Key Takeaways:

  • Cleanliness and convenience are two main focus areas of bathroom technology;
  • Understanding benefits is the key to consumers adopting any smart-home technology;
  • A new partner program between CEDIA and Kohler aims to educate installers and designers about adopting bathroom technologies.

By Dianne M. Pogoda

 

What keeps consumers from adopting smart technology in their homes, and how does that mindset change?

Chip Wade, Emmy Award-winning HGTV personality and owner of Wade Works Creative, hosted CEDIA’s Giles Sutton and Kohler Co.’s Shane Allis for a special session at KBIS to discuss these points in “Specifying Smarter Bathrooms,” and also revealed a new partnership between CEDIA and Kohler.

The question of adopting new technologies is often one of education, or of overcoming intimidation or fear.

“The biggest thing is that the ‘why’ needs to be very clear for that consumer,” said Allis, director of intelligent toilets and bidet seats at Kohler. “They aren’t looking for gadgets, or technology for technology’s sake. There needs to be a clear benefit for them, and that’s our focus in all our product development.”

Sutton, senior VP of external engagement at CEDIA, a trade association for home technology integrators, said the pandemic was “incredible for technology adoption,” and because so many people were stuck at home, they turned to technology for answers in many areas of their lives. “Whether working from home, or for wellness and relaxation, we’re using technology to disconnect from the day, and we look for technology to entertain us. It moved from a luxury to a necessity in our lives.” 

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Education about the products, benefits and proper installation is the focus of the Kohler-CEDIA collaboration, dubbed the Propel Program, said Sutton.

“We see this as a way to bring even more innovation into the connected world. There are a lot of legacy manufacturers that are getting into the smart-home space, and they’re finding that they don’t have the workforce to install those products,” he said. “Through Propel with Kohler, we’re able to provide training to our members so they can learn about those products, and how to deliver them to their customers.” He added that Kohler was an ideal partner in this effort because of its support of and expertise in the installation of connected products. 

Sutton said CEDIA research shows that for most families, all it takes to enter the smart-home space is success with that first device. “Using presets is where a lot of smart-home technology comes alive, for instance, setting a mood with lighting or music. That’s what our CEDIA members do — they create moods, by connecting different products, so you can have a morning scene, or an evening scene, or a ‘shut-myself-off-from-the-family’ scene. It’s hard to take the products in isolation, they work best together.”

CEDIA has a Certified Outreach Instructor training program for design professionals, for designers and architects who want to continue their tech education and learn strategies about how to work with a CEDIA member, bringing the integrator in early, planning as early as possible to ensure the whole system works as seamlessly as possible.

“CEDIA members ask questions to determine how the homeowners live, what’s important to them, how many people in the family will be on Wi-Fi at one time, zones within the home, and what’s needed so the tech works reliably and to its highest capability… and that it all works together,” Sutton said. 

Wade asked how Kohler’s smart-home tech fits into everyday sustainability efforts. Allis said that Kohler has a deep-rooted commitment to sustainability in manufacturing, in its products’ water and energy use, as well as impact on the environment. It carries this sustainable pledge across a wide range of products. 

“Think about intelligent toilets and bidet seats,” he posed. “During the pandemic, we went through a toilet-paper shortage, which certainly raised our awareness of those products. With smart toilets and bidet seats, you use less toilet paper, or you can choose to use none at all through the personal cleansing process.” 

Technologies that save water are critical in Kohler’s product development. “With digital showering, for instance, you can set the temperature that you want, and the shower can heat the water to that desired temperature and pause — so if you’re not in the shower yet, you’re not wasting water. You can start the water flow at that desired temperature. 

“PerfectFill technology is now available in the bath,” he added. “Say you’re finishing dinner and it’s time to give the kids a bath. You can start the bath via voice command while you’re cleaning up, and it will fill to the right temperature and depth of water that you’ve preset. And there are up to 10 presets for individual situations available. This saves time and water.”

Finally, he described the company’s H2Wise smart water monitor, which determines how much water various products are using throughout the house, so homeowners can make small changes that can have a big impact on water consumption. It can also detect leaks and the potential for freezing pipes, to avoid water damage.

Cleanliness and convenience are Kohler’s two primary focus areas in the bathroom. Beyond personal cleanliness, with intelligent toilets and bidet seats, tech features that help keep the toilet cleaner for a longer period include Continuous Clean, CleanCoat surfaces and Revolution 360 flushing system. “From a convenience perspective, it’s about time-saving products that create greater efficiency throughout the day.

“Consumers shouldn’t have to choose between form and function,” Allis concluded. “We develop products that balance both of those things — beautiful products with great functionality.”