search
cart
facebook instagram twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
  • NEWS
  • PRODUCTS
  • CONTRACTORS
    • BATH & KITCHEN PRO
    • BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
    • HIGH EFFICIENCY HOMES
    • TECHNOLOGY
    • WATER TREATMENT
    • PMC COLUMNS
      • Dave Yates: Contractor’s Corner
      • John Siegenthaler: Hydronics Workshop
      • Kenny Chapman: The Blue Collar Coach
      • Matt Michel: Service Plumbing Pros
      • Scott Secor: Heating Perceptions
  • ENGINEERS
    • CONTINUING EDUCATION
    • DECARBONIZATION | ELECTRIFICATION
    • FIRE PROTECTION
    • GEOTHERMAL | SOLAR THERMAL
    • PIPING | PLUMBING | PVF
    • PME COLUMNS
      • Christoph Lohr: Strategic Plumbing Insights
      • David Dexter: Plumbing Talking Points
      • James Dipping: Engineer Viewpoints
      • John Seigenthaler: Renewable Heating Design
      • Lowell Manalo: Plumbing Essentials
      • Misty Guard: Guard on Compliance
  • RADIANT & HYDRONICS
    • RADIANT COMFORT REPORT
    • THE GLITCH & THE FIX
  • INSIGHTS
    • CODES
    • GREEN PLUMBING & MECHANICAL
    • PROJECT PROFILES
    • COLUMNS
      • Codes Corner
      • Natalie Forster: Editorial Opinion
      • Guest Editorial
    • SPONSOR INSIGHTS
  • MEDIA
    • PODCASTS
    • VIDEOS
    • WEBINARS
  • RESOURCES
    • INDUSTRY CALENDAR
    • DIRECTORIES
    • EBOOKS
    • PM BOOKSTORE
    • CE CENTER
    • MARKET RESEARCH
    • CLASSIFIEDS
  • EMAGAZINE
    • EMAGAZINE
    • ARCHIVE ISSUES
    • CONTACT
    • ADVERTISE
    • PME EMAGAZINE ARCHIVES
  • SIGN UP!

Plumbing Trends: Sensor Faucets

By Katie Rotella
March 23, 2006
New residential electronic faucets are hands-free, hands-on and so much more.

The Pascal™ Culinary Faucet with Smart Technology from Brizo.


Many times when PM reports on sensor or electronic faucets we use the term “hands-free”: An infrared sensor activates a solenoid valve and water flow by passing an object (hands) in front of the fixture. This type of singular technology serves the commercial and industrial markets well. Faucets are easy to maintain, vandal-resistant and conserve water.

But as electronic faucets have become the norm in public washrooms and lavatories, users are also looking for the convenience of “smart” fixtures in their own homes.

However, “hands-free” alone may not cut it at the kitchen sink. The dynamics of how end-users cook and prepare food - and wash up afterward - has required residential faucet manufacturers to rethink the available sensing technology to make it a better fit for kitchen applications.

One brand, Brizo®, unveiled its smart kitchen faucet at this year's International Builders' Show. The Pascal™ Culinary Faucet with Smart Technology from Brizo acts more like a “personal assistant” than a typical faucet, says Bob Rodenbeck, product manager, research and development for Brizo. Conceiving Pascal was the result of demographic and ethnographic studies performed by the company with the collaboration of a design firm. The studies involved filming and observing the way end-users interact in the kitchen.

“Some interesting things were found,” says Rodenbeck. For instance, people were discovered to use their elbows and other body parts to operate the kitchen faucet, especially after handling raw meats and carrying large pots. Also, while washing dishes and clean up, the water was left running for long periods of time.

“This helped us discover an opportunity for innovation, in conservation, ease-of-use and hygiene,” Rodenbeck says. But the research told the designers very quickly that the traditional approach of electronic faucet technology wouldn't work. Pascal instead combines both hands-free and touch-control technology to get the best of both worlds. Users can activate water flow by either “tapping” the faucet, using the hands-free option or operating the traditional single-lever handle. Pascal also integrates a pull-down spout feature for added convenience. The pull-down function also activates water flow, and when retracted, turns off the water.

In typical electronic faucets, an infrared sensor determines if the field has been intercepted by an object (hands). But Pascal uses programmable position sensitive detection (PSD), which sets a range in which to detect how far away an object is to activate the water and is unaffected by lighting, color or texture.

In the case of Pascal, the whole faucet is the sensor, and can differentiate between moving and static objects, which allows for increased flexibility. Water temperature and flow is set by Pascal's manual valve. Water delivery is the same each time the sensor options are activated. But figuring out the “water work space” in a residential kitchen took some engineering.

“The kitchen sink brings in a whole different dynamic,” Rodenbeck says. “There are varying water levels to consider; objects, such as stacked dishes and other items, entering the sensor field; as well as many more 'shiny' objects to contend with that sometimes mess with electronic sensor reading.”

The Pascal technology is a blending of proprietary Brizo technology as well as off-the-shelf components. The company worked closely with its suppliers to get the product just right. “It's the optimization of all the technology available that's key,” Rodenbeck says. “Pascal is unique because it is more responsive and intuitive to the user.”

For installers, it is a basic two-hole mount faucet with electric components - three color-coded cables are plugged in with a battery pack or AC adapter. A plumber just needs to ground the wires (a copper pipe does the trick), and it's done.

Brizo sees many benefits to this new type of kitchen fixture. For starters, the ease-of-use and convenience factor of an electronic faucet in the kitchen means it has universal appeal for active cooks, but also those with physical challenges, such as arthritis. Sanitation concerns when handling food are eliminated, since water can be activated without using contaminated hands. Finally, energy and water conservation is maximized, since built-in time-outs automatically turnoff water flow within two seconds once the object (or hands) are removed from under the spout. With less hot water running unnecessarily, less energy is consumed.

Pascal's design and functionality speaks to many different market segments: the emerging cooking-at-home market, “greenies,” universal design, home automation, hygiene awareness, etc. But Brizo found that for these markets, an emotional connection was made between the user and the product.

“Homeowners have a positive response to Pascal. It's interactive. It's an emotion-inducing product,” says Rodenbeck, who admits that the best way to understand this type of faucet is to experience it. Select showrooms will feature Pascal in April. It will be available nationally this fall, so the contractor can better convey the features and benefits to clients.

The company recently beta-tested Pascal on professional chefs in their homes. Pascal was positively received and users began to perceive it as a kitchen helper, offering flexibility to the tasks at hand. “It takes about two weeks to get used to, because we all have our habits that need adjusting,” Rodenbeck says. “But after two weeks, it silently changes the way you do things.” It wasn't unusual for the testers to admit to “tapping” other faucets, expecting the same ease-of-use from them as well. “The functionality of this faucet becomes habitual.”

Links

  • Innovative Thinking: Hiring-Training-Retention
  • Radiant & Hydronics e-News

Share This Story

Looking for a reprint of this article?
From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today!

Katie Rotella was the senior editor of Plumbing & Mechanical from 1999-2009.

Recommended Content

JOIN TODAY
to unlock your recommendations.

Already have an account? Sign In

  • Worker using the Milwaukee Tool SWITCH PACK drain cleaner

    Pipeline profits: Drain cleaning, pipe inspection create opportunities

    Drain cleaning and inspection services offer lucrative...
    Plumbing News
    By: Nicole Krawcke
  • Uponor employee, Arturo Moreno

    The reinvestment in American manufacturing and training

    Plumbing & Mechanical Chief Editor Nicole Krawcke and...
    Plumbing News
    By: Nicole Krawcke and Natalie Forster
  • March 2024 Women in Plumbing hero image of woman engineer overlayed by circle of hexagon shapes with numbers from 1 to 10

    Celebrating 10 Influential Women in the Plumbing Industry

    Celebrating Women's History Month and Women in...
    Plumbing News
    By: Nicole Krawcke
Subscribe For Free!
  • eNewsletters
  • Online Registration
  • Subscription Customer Service
  • eMagazine
  • Manage My Preferences

More Videos

Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content is a special paid section where industry companies provide high quality, objective, non-commercial content around topics of interest to the Plumbing & Mechanical audience. All Sponsored Content is supplied by the advertising company and any opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily reflect the views of Plumbing & Mechanical or its parent company, BNP Media. Interested in participating in our Sponsored Content section? Contact your local rep!

close
  • J.J. Keller CMV vehicles on road
    Sponsored byJ. J. Keller & Associates, Inc.

    The dash cam game-changer for small business safety

Popular Stories

Underfloor heating installation with drain sewer hole in bathroom close up on water floor heating.

Using hydronics to leverage time-of-use electrical rates

Watts Nexa mobile image

Behind the Wall: Where smart plumbing gets smarter

Shopping trolley cart stacked on top of a pile of increasing coin columns for online sale business growth concept.

The many reasons for price increases

PMCE Home-X April 29 Free Webinar: From Legacy to Leadership: Preparing Your Home Services Business for the Next Generation

Events

November 13, 2024

Future Proofing MEP: Navigating the 2026 High Efficiency Water Heating Standards

Join our deep dive into DOE’s new standards so you can future-proof your MEP practice.

EARN: 0.1 ASPE CEU; 1 AIA LU/HSW; 0.1 IACET CEU*; 1 PDH

View All Submit An Event

Poll

Will business be up or down in 2025?

Do you anticipate business in 2025 to be up or down in comparison to 2024?
View Results Poll Archive

Products

The Water Came To A Stop

The Water Came To A Stop

See More Products

Download the FREE Water Conservation, Quality & Safety eBook: Plumbing Trends Increasing Safe Water Availability

Related Articles

  • Plumbing Trends: Kitchen Faucets & Sinks

    See More
  • Plumbing Trends: Touchless Faucet Technology

    See More
  • Plumbing Trends: At The Kitchen Sink

    See More
×

Keep your content unclogged with our newsletters!

Stay in the know on the latest plumbing & piping industry trends.

JOIN TODAY!
  • RESOURCES
    • Advertise
    • Contact Us
    • Directories
    • Store
    • Want More
    • Supply House Times
  • SIGN UP TODAY
    • Create Account
    • eMagazine
    • eNewsletter
    • Customer Service
    • Manage Preferences
  • SERVICES
    • Marketing Services
    • Reprints
    • Market Research
    • List Rental
    • Survey/Respondent Access
  • STAY CONNECTED
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • YouTube
    • X (Twitter)
  • PRIVACY
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • TERMS & CONDITIONS
    • DO NOT SELL MY PERSONAL INFORMATION
    • PRIVACY REQUEST
    • ACCESSIBILITY

Copyright ©2025. All Rights Reserved BNP Media.

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing