When you think about creating a smart home, the bathroom probably isn’t the first room that springs to mind.For that reason, it can be easy to overlook a few cheap and easy upgrades, plus some of the more lavish items that can make life a little easier.Water leak sensors An upgrade that everyone should install anywhere there’s a tap or pipe that could leak.
Water leak sensors could literally save you thousands of dollars by alerting you to a problem before it gets out of hand.I have cheap IKEA sensors in my house that trigger critical Apple Home alerts in the event of water being detected.Bonus points for picking sensors with speakers, just in case you don’t have your smartphone on you when the worst happens.
If you’ve got the budget and want to go even further, get a smart shut-off valve and automate it so that your water is automatically switched off in the event of a leak.This can protect your home should the worst happen while you’re out or away.Relays or smart switches to control fans and towel rails Relays control “dumb” devices like fans and heated towel rails using a protocol of your choice: Wi-Fi, Thread, Zigbee, Z-Wave, and even Bluetooth.
They are usually hidden in the wall behind regular “dumb” switches, allowing you to bypass switch controls entirely and automate these devices however you see fit.The only drawback to a relay compared with a “proper” smart switch is that the switch and the device state can become out of sync.This might confuse guests and other members of your household, but apart from that, they’re cheap and powerful upgrades that open up a world of possibilities.
A humidity and temperature sensor The bathroom is (hopefully) the most humid room in your house, at least when you’re running a bath or taking a shower.Controlling humidity in the bathroom allows you to stay on top of mold and ensure that towels and bath mats dry out before you next need them.Combine a humidity sensor with a relay connected to a smart fan to automatically vent moist air as the humidity rises.
This could also work by triggering a dehumidifier that’s connected to a smart plug.Most humidity sensors also measure the current temperature, which you could use to automate a space heater or heated towel rail during certain hours of the day.IKEA TIMMERFLOTTE Brand IKEA Type Sensor The IKEA TIMMERFLOTTE is a puck-shaped temperature and humidity sensor.
The device comes with Matter-compatibility, allowing it to connect to your smart home hub of choice.It's powered by two AAA batteries. $10 at Ikea Expand Collapse Dimmable lights and sensors Automated bathroom lighting can be a blessing and a curse.Personally, I can’t stand any form of lighting when I get up in the night, since I know the layout of my home like the back of my hand and prefer to navigate in the dark.
Others, like guests, might want a light to avoid any stubbed toes or other accidents.You can automate the lighting in your bathroom with a simple motion sensor, or you could get fancy and install a combined motion and presence sensor like the Everything Presence One ($66).Now throw in a dimmable smart bulb, or a smart switch with support for dimming and regular dimmable dumb bulbs.
With this sort of setup, you can trigger low levels of bathroom light automatically (maybe just 10%) during certain hours of the day.The sensor will automatically turn the light on, while presence detection will ensure that it doesn’t stay on any longer than necessary.Everything Presence One This ultimate smart home sensor supports a 24GHz mmWave Sensor for precise motion tracking as well as a powerful PIR for lightning fast responses.
With a Temperature and Humidity sensor for monitoring climate status, Ambient Lighting sensor for smart control of lights, Bluetooth Tracking for wearables and an ESP32 for connectivity.$66 at Everything Smart Technology Expand Collapse RGB LED strips Another option that you could combine with your bathroom sensor is recessed LED lighting.These strips work best when they’re fully hidden and used to cast a glow, for example, underneath a bathroom mirror, a sink, or the edge of the bath.
Your biggest hurdle is likely going to be getting power where you need it.On top of providing off-center, dimmable lighting, these strips can make bath time extra relaxing by casting a color of your choosing.You could even use them to flash certain colors in the event of a doorbell ringing or some other event that might demand your attention while you’re otherwise engaged.
A heated mirror By far the most bougie of all the upgrades on this list, and ultimately not that “smart” unless you take the time to add a relay or smart switch to its power source, heated mirrors are pricey luxuries that work much like your car’s rear windscreen.That said, they're surprisingly affordable with the one above available for less than $150 at Walmart.Subscribe to the newsletter for bathroom smart-home ideas Join the newsletter for practical bathroom smart-home guidance and broader home-automation ideas: concise recommendations on water-leak sensors, relays, humidity and presence sensors, dimmable lighting, heated mirrors, and clear automation plans.
Subscribe By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.You can unsubscribe anytime.A set of heated coils sits behind the reflective glass, clearing the mirror of condensation after you get out of the bath or shower.
While a fan that helps control humidity should be your first weapon against excess moisture in the air, the process of clearing steam out of the bathroom involves a short wait that a heated mirror can bypass.For best results, write an automation that triggers the heating element as soon as the humidity reaches a level that causes the glass to fog up.The mirror will be clear and ready for you as soon as you step out of the shower.
My heated towel rail is in desperate need of a smart switch I can automate, and lighting that dims at night is also on my list.Looking for more smart home ideas? Check out some smart home upgrades for the bedroom.
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