Increasing disposable incomes in India are remodelling consumer priorities, especially for their home sanitation. According to the World Bank, the average disposable income in India reached USD 2,580 in 2023. With more spending power, Indian consumers are increasingly investing in comfort-driven, advanced hygiene solutions. Among these, smart toilets have emerged as a popular and aspirational choice. These modern toilets make sufficient use of technology to enhance hygiene and comfort. As people become more aware of cleanliness and want better lifestyles, smart toilets are becoming a smart and useful choice for most Indian homes.
Read this blog to understand more about smart toilets.
What Are Smart Toilets?
A smart toilet is a modern toilet that uses technology to make using the bathroom more comfortable and clean. It can have features like:
- Seat warmers to keep the seat warm,
- Bidet spray to clean you with water,
- Automatic flushing so you don’t have to touch anything,
- Lights for better visibility at night,
- Self cleaning system that keeps the toilet clean by itself.
These features help improve hygiene, make the toilet easier to use, and reduce the need for regular cleaning.
Why Needs Smart Toilets?
Rising Health Awareness Post-Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic has increased public awareness about hygiene and sanitation, leading to increased demand for safer and cleaner toilet solutions. By including smart toilet technology in the house bathroom, you can prioritise sanitation without compromising on convenience or style. The innovative design of smart wc fosters a culture of hygiene awareness.
Water Conservation
Water sensors set the toilet to use the appropriate water to flush waste. Thus these smart toilets use around 50% less water than conventional toilets. You can even adjust the function further, ensuring that your toilet flushes as little as 0.6 gallons of water per flush, reducing your water bill and environmental impact through effective water conservation methods.
Enhance Hygiene with Touchless Features
The smart toilet will be designed with touchless features to enhance hygiene. This contactless toilet reduces the risk of germ transmission in both private and public spaces. This features automatic flushing, lid opening and closing, and self-cleaning mechanisms. In homes, a smart toilet seat with hands-free controls improves hygiene for all family members.
Comfort and Convenience for All Users
These smart toilets offer a hygienic spray, and their built-in jets remove the need for toilet paper. This feature encourages building for all principles, which eases elders and handicapped people to use restrooms. They can comfortably position their bodies to use the toilet. Also, the presence of voice activation and remote controls empowers a hands-free experience, making it much easier for them.
Top Smart Toilet Features
Touchless Flushing: The motion sensor activates automatic flushing after each use for touch-free operation.
Automatic Operation (Opening and Closing of Seats and Lids):
The seat lifts up automatically when you come near, using proximity sensors. After you’re done, it closes by itself. The cleaning nozzles (called wands) come out and clean the toilet bowl before and after each use.
Heated Seats: You can preset the seat as per your desired temperature for comfort in the winter.
Built-in Smart Toilet Bidets: Adjustable warm water sprays support personal cleansing after use. Air dryers in seats eradicate the need for toilet paper.
Variable Temperature Control: You can change the temperature of the heated seat, bidet water, and warm air dryer to suit your liking. It can also save settings for different users.
LED Ambient and Night Lighting: Soft lights inside the bowl, around your feet, and gentle mood lighting create a calm and relaxing feel, especially at night.
Touchscreen Remote Controls: You can easily control all features using a simple touchscreen remote.
Smart Features for Comfort and Cleanliness: The toilet learns your habits and adjusts automatically to give you the most comfort and keep things clean.
Overflow Protection: Overflow protection offers a secondary drain to make sure that your bowl is never in danger of overflowing in the case of a clog or issue. This secondary drain helps prevent water leakage problems by enabling water to flow out into your pipes without causing issues.
Challenges & Considerations Before Including Smart Toilet
High Initial Costs
Smart commodes often cost more than traditional toilet models. Since it involves advanced features, they automatically contribute to their high price. For budget-conscious consumers, these smart toilets are not easily affordable.
Installation and Maintenance Complexity
Smart toilets demand professional installation and regular maintenance to ensure optimal functionality. The intricacies involved include essential software updates to keep system efficiency, introduce new features, and calibrate sensors that detect user presence and optimize performance.
Also, these toilets often depend on a stable power supply, which can complicate installation if electrical modifications are needed. Understanding bathroom plumbing basics is essential before installing a smart toilet.
Consumer Awareness and Education
Not everyone knows about smart toilets. And it can feel difficult to learn the usage of these new technology-bound toilets. It is very important to educate people about the various advantages of these advanced bathroom fixtures, including enhanced hygiene, improved comfort, and user-friendly features such as adjustable bidets and heated seats.
Smart Toilet Price in India
Smart toilet prices in India are available across a wide range of various features and brands. Entry-level models will start from about ₹24,000–₹33,000 for basic automatic flushing and bidet functions. Premium options, such as the Kohler Numi 2.0, can cost about ₹9,25,000, offering advanced amenities like Alexa support and mood lighting.
What Should You Look for in the Best Smart Toilet?
Shapes and Sizes:
Smart toilets come in different shapes and sizes. The two main shapes are rounded and elongated. If you’re adding a bidet seat to your current toilet, make sure it matches the shape of your toilet bowl. Also, measure the space between the toilet bowl and the tank to check if it fits the bidet seat’s size needs.
For optimal bathroom harmony, consider Vastu Shastra principles for toilet placement when installing your smart toilet.
Height:
Many smart toilets are available in comfort height (the seat is about 17 to 19 inches from the floor). This will be higher than the regular 15 inches of regular toilets. This extra height makes it cosy to sit down and stand up, mainly for older adults or people with knee problems who might otherwise need a toilet riser.
Other Features to Look For:
If this is your first smart toilet, you’ll be surprised by the advanced features. Here are some key ones recommended by experts:
- Adjustable Water Temperature and Pressure: You can set the water to your preferred temperature and pressure for cleaning. Some toilets even let two or more users save their settings with a remote control. Warm-water cleaning is a favourite feature for many users.
- Heated Seat: A warm seat adds extra comfort, especially on cold mornings.
- Self-Cleaning: To keep things hygienic, many models clean the spray wand after each use. Some even clean the toilet bowl automatically.
- Touchless Flush: These toilets flush without touching, helping to reduce germs. Some models flush automatically when you walk away, while others have a sensor on top—you just wave your hand to flush.
- Night Light: A built-in motion sensor turns on soft light at night, making it easier and safer to use the toilet in the dark.
Maintenance of Smart Toilet
Your smart toilets always start with high initial costs and demand proper care to maintain them. You can follow these guidelines to keep your smart WC in proper shape:
- You should always avoid using chemical or harsh cleaners while cleaning electronic or plastic elements.
- Although smart toilets have a self-cleaning function, you should regularly check all the components to keep them in working order.
- Routine maintenance on the surface of the smart toilet and the bidet nozzle is very important.
- You can use a damp cloth or soft brush along with your regular cleaner.
- Always separate the plastic parts and clean them cautiously, as they cannot withstand harsh chemicals.
Smart toilets offer long-term cost savings, minimal water consumption, and lower utility bills. It provides a positive environmental impact and the ability to minimise water waste through greywater management. Smart toilets’ quality of life improvements are worth the money, especially the lower maintenance cost and better hygiene, so consider adding some comfort and modernity into your space to enhance seniors’ living.
Mithali Konety