The Future Is Smart: 4 Smart Plumbing Inventions for Your Home

Home technology is always evolving, but the speed at which it is currently progressing is truly something to behold. Thanks to the integration of the internet, smart home technology has given us the ability to control and surveil our homes like never before. This includes greatly improving how you operate your plumbing system by giving you more flexibility than you have ever enjoyed! Whether you want to save water, save energy, or just want to be able to respond quickly in the event of a plumbing emergency, check out this blog where we take a look at four smart plumbing devices that could be a great investment in your comfort and peace of mind.

Smart Leak Detectors

Everyone knows how dangerous a plumbing leak can be, but how can you tell when you actually have one? What if your leak is in the slab beneath your feet? What if it is in your outdoor irrigation system, where you may never notice it for months or even years? Unless you’re staring closely at your water meter all the time, there’s a strong chance there may be at least one or two leaks in your home that you simply never knew about. And that’s a terrifying prospect when you consider that a leak could grow and quickly turn into a serious disaster.

With a smart leak detector, you’ll find out about these problems far faster than you ever would have before. Many smart leak detectors use proprietary technology to quickly and accurately find leaks in your plumbing system while also filtering out the noise that comes from typical plumbing fixture use and day-to-day life. And they come in different models for different uses—some models can be easily installed on your main water input line while others are designed for use in high-water areas, such as near your washing machine or under your kitchen sink, so they can alert you to leaks as soon as possible.

Smart Shutoff Valves

Have a plumbing leak? The best thing you can do to respond is take action quickly and shut off your water to stop the flow. However, shutting off your water is difficult enough as it is when you are home, and completely possible while you are away. Or at least it was, up until the invention of the smart shutoff valve.

A smart shutoff valve is an electronic valve that you can open and close either manually or with the touch of a button to turn the flow of water in your home on or off. Installed on your main water input line, these systems give you the ability to quickly and easily stop the flow of water in an emergency in order to minimize the damage and give you more time to take action. Whether you’re dealing with a slow leak under your sink or you’re facing a potential catastrophe from a burst pipe in your concrete slab, a smart shutoff valve gives you the ability to respond in seconds from anywhere in the world. If you’re looking for peace of mind when it comes to your plumbing, the amount of value one of these devices can provide you can’t be overstated.

Connected Water Treatment Systems

If you’re sick of hard water making life miserable or you simply want to do away with the frustrating issue of weird tastes from foreign substances in the water that flows into your home, a water treatment system is the way to go. Today, a number of water treatment systems are on the market that are able to give you real-time data via a smartphone app or online dashboard. Some systems give you the ability to track your water consumption so you can see how much you are using in real-time. Others can even give you a basic breakdown of substance levels in your water. Others can even notify you when they need maintenance or to replace filtration media. With so many different options on the market, there’s sure to be a system out there that will do exactly what you want and give you the connectivity you are looking for.

Touch-Free Faucets

What is the germiest surface in your home? Your computer keyboard? The screen of your smartphone? Your toilet seat? These are all good contenders, but a lot of people forget just how dirty the handles on their faucets can be. Every time you touch your faucet, those germs could be reaching your hands, and they could get back onto your hands when you go to shut the faucet off. Wouldn’t it be great if your faucet could turn on and off for you? Modern touch-free faucets can do exactly that.

Touch-free faucets use a battery-powered sensor to detect when your hands are positioned directly beneath your faucet. From there, they automatically turn the water on to a pre-set temperature level, keeping the water flowing until you pull your hands away. This allows you to wash your hands quickly, easily, and comfortably without ever having to worry about wasting water or spreading germs around! Need to keep the water running even when you pull your hands away? No problem—these faucets still turn on and off like normal, giving you the same control you had before. And the best part: they’re affordable! Most touch-free faucets are only slightly higher in cost than your standard faucet, and they come in a number of great styles too.