G W Posted January 5, 2018 Posted January 5, 2018 Kohler has many of the same issues we have all discovered. https://www.cnet.com/google-amp/news/speak-shower-and-shave-kohler-brings-smarts-to-your-bathroom/
lilyoyo1 Posted January 5, 2018 Posted January 5, 2018 I saw that. I want the faucet, shower controller and tub.
Goose66 Posted January 5, 2018 Posted January 5, 2018 This is just the kind of parlor tricks that passes for "home automation" or "Smart Home" these days. If I can flick a lever and flush the toilet, how does making my iPhone control it or providing voice control make it smarter? Auto-flush, turning on the exhaust fan when it gets steamy, and (I guess - I don't take baths) pre-filling a bath tub based on a command from the other room - now there is real "automation."
DrLumen Posted January 5, 2018 Posted January 5, 2018 Yep, to me this is an epic fail. They complain about issues with Alexa and cross functionality but then make it proprietary so you gotta have their mirror to use any other of their smart $&!# house stuff. Shakes head.
apostolakisl Posted January 5, 2018 Posted January 5, 2018 I'm with the others on this being kind of stupid. Seriously, why would I need to flush my toilet using anything but my finger pushing the lever? Or turn my shower on? The purpose of automation is to take care of stuff that you wouldn't already be in exactly the right spot at exactly the right time to just to it regular like. Like my toilet fan is set to shut-off automatically. Now there is a good use of automation. I don't need it to turn on automatically, I'm already there. It's the off part that needs the automating. I suppose if your ultimate goal is to have a super clutter free home devoid of the horror of switches and handles, then I guess.
G W Posted January 5, 2018 Author Posted January 5, 2018 I can see an advantage of an automation controlled shower. If I could say, "Shower on," and the shower would turn on the water and set it to my temperature, turn on the exhaust fan and set the lighting to my desire based on natural light then I'd be very happy.
lilyoyo1 Posted January 5, 2018 Posted January 5, 2018 The shower, tub, and kitchen faucet I can see for convenience. My current faucet is hands free which is nice but this one adds the added benefit of being able to tell it how much water you need. While minor it helps with multi tasking while cooking The same with the shower. Being able to tell the system to start my shower from the bedroom without needed to run to the bathroom is a huge convenience. I currently have the u by Moen which is app based. I don't use it often only because I hate having to pull my phone out to use the app. However, it is nice that I can start the shower and it will warm up to my the temperature I want and stop. There has been many times, I've started the shower, got busy with other things and realized I left the water on. Because of the system, I ended up not wasting water due to the pause feature. Being able to start it from anywhere is just an added convenience. I'm hoping Moen adds support for home or Alexa so I don't have to switch but if I do, I will be switching systems. The same with the tub. I can come home from the gym, tell it to run me a bath and by the time I get upstairs it's ready. While I wouldn't rip out my current tub for the system, I'm hoping they come out with a retrofit at some point in the future because I would jump on it in a heartbeat
apostolakisl Posted January 6, 2018 Posted January 6, 2018 I turn on my shower by spinning the knob, then I floss, then I get in. It isn't like turning on your hottub or something that takes hours. It takes15 seconds which happens to be exactly the amount of time it takes me to floss.
bipto Posted January 6, 2018 Posted January 6, 2018 All that much closer to HA wiping my a**... Swell.
apostolakisl Posted January 6, 2018 Posted January 6, 2018 All that much closer to HA wiping my a**... Swell. Well, now, actually, that is one place I might not mind automation. . . even though I am right there at the right time and all.
G W Posted January 6, 2018 Author Posted January 6, 2018 I turn on my shower by spinning the knob, then I floss, then I get in. It isn't like turning on your hottub or something that takes hours. It takes15 seconds which happens to be exactly the amount of time it takes me to floss. When I come inside from working in 90° heat and I'm covered with dirt and going dirtier than the Black Adder, I'm really not in the mood to stick my filthy hands in my mouth. I want hot clean water and I want it is as soon as I can get undressed or sooner.
paulbates Posted January 6, 2018 Posted January 6, 2018 "The captain has illuminated the "TMI" indicator light, ....." Paul
lilyoyo1 Posted January 6, 2018 Posted January 6, 2018 I turn on my shower by spinning the knob, then I floss, then I get in. It isn't like turning on your hottub or something that takes hours. It takes15 seconds which happens to be exactly the amount of time it takes me to floss. We also can hit a switch to turn a light on but we invest to let the house take care of it for us. Some things don't make sense toe but others do. These are some of those things. For me an automated home is all encompassing as long as it aheives the goals I would like.
TrojanHorse Posted January 6, 2018 Posted January 6, 2018 Just did a major master bathroom remodel here and noticed in a showroom shower valves with digital controls. I don’t think what I saw was automated and I thought about it for half a second and realized the last thing I want to do is wake up in the morning and realize I can’t take shower because either the batteries are dead or my power cuts out mid shower. I didn’t even take the time to research if they were battery powered or hardwired, I didn’t care. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
lilyoyo1 Posted January 6, 2018 Posted January 6, 2018 I can't speak on the one you saw but mine runs off AC with battery backup. I have a generator anyway so no power isn't an issue I worry about.
apostolakisl Posted January 6, 2018 Posted January 6, 2018 We also can hit a switch to turn a light on but we invest to let the house take care of it for us. Some things don't make sense toe but others do. These are some of those things. For me an automated home is all encompassing as long as it aheives the goals I would like. I didn't automate so that I can walk into a room and have the lights turn on by some mechanism other than pushing the paddle. It is for turning lights on/off when I'm not there. So that I can drive out my garage and hit one button and have the whole house shut down, alarm activate, and garage door close. So that when I go to bed, I can hit one button and have the whole house shut down. So that in the evening, my house has all those nice accent lights turn on automatically. So that if my fire alarm activates, all pathway to exit light up. So that my security lights are on at sunset. . . .
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