Smart home technology has expanded in so many ways in recent years. It’s now reached the point where the majority of homes have at least some smart technology. This can be anything from doorbell cameras and smart door locks to smart thermostats and even smart refrigerators that allow you to remotely check the contents of your fridge. Smart home technology is also becoming much more common in plumbing systems, providing many benefits to homeowners.
Smart Water Usage Monitors
Monitoring your home’s water usage is a great way to conserve and keep your water bills lower. It’s especially helpful during the summer when most people’s water bills are much higher due to watering their lawns, gardens, and flower pots. Smart water meters or monitoring systems make it easy to connect to your water line and your home’s Wi-Fi network. You can then use the associated app to view your hourly, daily, and monthly water usage.
Some even allow you to monitor the usage minute-by-minute in real time. Monitoring the usage is helpful since it allows you to identify sources of high usage and ways that you can potentially cut back. For instance, you can use the app to see how much water each person in your household uses when showering and quickly determine if someone is taking excessively long showers and potentially wasting water or laundering multiple small loads instead of a single large load of laundry.
Smart Leak Detectors and Water Shut-Offs
By far one of the most useful solutions for protecting your home from flooding and water damage is a smart leak detector system. Some smart leak detectors are fairly basic with a simple moisture sensor. This type of sensor can connect to your phone via an app and send you an alert if a certain appliance starts leaking. Most of these devices will sound a shrill alarm so that anyone who is home will immediately know there is a water leak. The most common use for this type of leak detection device is to place it in the vicinity of a water heater, dishwasher, or other appliance so that you know if it starts leaking.
While these individual leak detection devices are useful, more comprehensive options are available. For instance, some smart leak detectors can detect leaks anywhere in a home’s plumbing system instead of in just one place. Some perform daily tests that allow them to detect even minor leaks and drips. The device monitors your water usage, which allows it to distinguish between normal usage and excessive usage caused by a leaking pipe. The connected app serves as a smart water meter that lets you continually monitor usage.
The biggest advantage of this type of leak detection system is that it comes with a smart water shut-off. That means you can use the app to shut off your water main if the app notifies you of unusual usage that could be due to a leak. If the system detects a leak when performing the daily test, it will automatically shut off the main on its own without needing your input. This is important since it helps to avoid or at least minimize any water damage that may occur if one of your pipes develops a leak.
Smart Faucets
More and more people are opting to upgrade their kitchens with motion-sensing touchless faucets. This type of faucet is great for times when your hands are full and you need to turn the water on. It’s much more hygienic since you won’t need to touch the handle to turn the water on and wash your hands after handling raw meat. These faucets you can turn on just by tapping anywhere on the handle or spout. You don’t even need to use your hand or finger to turn the faucet on. If your hands are dirty or greasy, you can just use your wrist or arm to touch the faucet and turn the water on. Some models will automatically turn the water off if it continues running for a set length of time. That helps you to avoid wasting water in case someone forgets to turn the faucet off.
Some even more advanced faucets are voice-activated and can be controlled using an Amazon Alexa or other smart home assistant. This, again, allows you to turn the water on and off without touching the faucet handles. There are even voice-activated faucets that you can instruct to measure specific amounts of water. This can be convenient if you’re trying to multi-task in the kitchen. For instance, if you need to fill up a large 8-gallon pot with water, you can just put the pot in the sink, give the command for 8 gallons and the faucet will shut off at exactly 8 gallons.
Smart Showers
As with some other smart plumbing technology, smart showers allow you to use voice commands to adjust lighting or even the water temperature. Many of them are Bluetooth enabled so that you can connect your phone to play music or make or take calls while you shower. Some allow you to set your preferred temperature before turning the water on so that you know it won’t be too hot or too cold when you step inside. You can even program different temperatures for different times of the day. For instance, if you prefer a colder shower after working out or a warmer shower in the evening, you can easily program this. You can set a timer so that you don’t shower for too long and waste water.
Smart Sump Pumps
A smart sump pump system can be incredibly useful for reducing the risk of flooding in your basement or crawlspace. This type of system usually has moisture sensors that you mount near the top of the sump basin. If your pump isn’t working or not pumping as effectively as it should and the water level in the basin rises to the sensors, the system will immediately send an alert to your phone. That way, you will instantly be aware that your basement or crawlspace is at risk of flooding.
Many smart pump systems feature an app that lets you monitor how often and how long your sump pump runs. If your sump pump starts staying on for longer each time it comes on, it usually indicates it isn’t working properly. That means you can easily know if you need to have it repaired or replaced.
Smart sump pump systems are also useful if you have a backup pump just in case your main pump fails. In this case, you can set it so that you receive an instant notification if your main pump fails and the backup pump starts running. That way, you’ll know that you need to have your main pump inspected.
For nearly 25 years, Thermo Direct has been offering reliable, professional plumbing, heating, air conditioning, and electrical services in Raleigh and the surrounding areas. We specialize in plumbing installation and can help if you want to upgrade your home with any type of smart plumbing technology. As one of the leading contractors in the area, give us a call to make sure all of your home service needs are expertly handled.