Whilst for years smart bathroom accessories have been seen as expensive investments that do not necessarily provide enough benefit for the price, that mindset is quickly beginning to change.
According to a YouGov poll commissioned by bathroom manufacturer Geberit, 65 per cent of people would pay more for a home with new technology, with bathrooms, in particular, being an untapped market.
Whilst significantly more people have accessible bath solutions or a wet room installed, just two per cent of homeowners have some form of smart device, touchless technology or automation in their bathroom, compared to 29 per cent in their office space, 34 per cent in their kitchens and 70 per cent in their living spaces.
Given that previous research by Geberit in 2018 found that the most popular place to escape in the home is the bathroom, this revealed a ton of untapped potential in smart bathroom design, with a potential model coming in the form of hotelisation.
Over the past few years, interior design in the home has adopted a lot of cues from the world of hotels and apartments, particularly in the form of lavish spa bathrooms. This also appears to be a desire of those surveyed by Geberit.
Of the 1200 people surveyed, 22 per cent wanted convenient shower toilets, 28 per cent wanted touch-free flush plates using optical sensors, 34 per cent wanted orientation lighting (dim light beams that guide people through the bathroom at night) and 39 per cent wanted an odour extraction system.
These are the smartest investments to buy in smart bathroom technology, as they provide a tangible, desired benefit to the bathroom experience.
Previously, smart bathroom systems were essentially water-resistant variations of other smart home appliances, such as a “smart mirror” that was effectively a television screen, smart showers that were smartphone-controlled thermostats, and smart lights that could be activated, brightened and dimmed automatically.