Kohler believes that as millions of people around the world spend more time at home, they yearn for balance and seek an escape from the stresses and anxieties of everyday life. During virtual CES, the company announced several new additions to its smart home portfolio with a focus on personal wellbeing.
Kohler introduced four new products: Stillness Bath, Innate Intelligent Toilet, Touchless Bathroom Faucet collection, and two new products emerging from a collaboration with Phyn – Kohler Whole Home Water Monitor Powered by Phyn, a DIY unit and a Pro version with automatic shut off.
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The potential for technology to create more moments of wellbeing, and making it easier to unwind, destress, and find peace, is a driving force behind’s Kohler’s continued investment and product development in smart home technology.
“As we grow our leadership in smart home innovation, our products make it possible for consumers to easily enjoy the advantages of touchless and connected experiences, without adding clutter or complexity to their spaces,” said David Kohler, president and CEO of Kohler Co. “We believe there is a delicate balance when it comes to technology in the home – and will continue pioneering opportunities for seamless control in the bathroom and kitchen with an eye toward gracious living and wellbeing.”
Kohler Stillness Bath
This experiential bath draws its inspiration from Japanese forest bathing, or shinrin-yoku. Water, light, fog, and aromas converge to create an immersive journey of the senses designed to relax the mind, soothe the body, and renew the spirit.
Transforming the bathroom into a spa-like environment for quiet mindfulness, the Stillness Bath offers a sanctuary for self-care and wellbeing. It starts with water filling from the bottom of the bath, overflowing into the Hinoki wood moat to create a soothing sound. Full spectrum lighting surrounds the bath, setting the mood, and creating a “chromatherapy” experience. Fog then envelopes the surface of the Stillness Bath, immersing the bather in a feeling of deep relaxation. Finally, essential oils can be added into the bath’s experience tower which softly emits invigorating aromas to stimulate the senses and promote focus.
Innate Intelligent Toilet
Innate is the newest addition to Kohler’s portfolio of intelligent products. The Innate includes all the comfort, convenience, and cleanliness features that people expect from Kohler’s broad offering of intelligent toilets at a more affordable price. Innate includes a heated seat, auto open and close, intuitive remote, and personal bidet functionality. Further, as many homeowners look for more DIY projects, Innate features Kohler’s ready-lock installation.
Touchless Residential Bathroom Faucet
The touchless bathroom faucet offers hands-free activation for washing hands, brushing teeth, and other daily tasks. Having the ability to wash hands at the end of the bathroom routine without touching the handles of the faucet decreases the potential spread of bacteria and germs in the space. Kohler has launched an integrated faucet with embedded sensors as well as a remote puck that allows for a retrofit solution add-on to any KOHLER single control bathroom faucet.
Kohler and Phyn Partnership
Kohler also introduced two co-branded products with Phyn in 2021 – the KOHLER Whole Home Water Monitor Powered by Phyn – a DIY unit and a Pro version with an automatic shut off. These products represent a continued evolution of the company’s focus on water safety and peace of mind. Both products leverage Phyn’s patented high-definition pressure wave analysis to monitor water flow to immediately notify a homeowner if a leak is detected anywhere in the home and to provide detailed insights into how each fixture uses water.
The DIY version mounts under a single sink and can be easy installed by a homeowner. The Pro variation is installed at a water main, either inside or outside the home, and can mitigate costly damage through an automatic water shutoff feature.
Kohler Smart Home Enhancements
Kohler has expanded several smart home technologies that incorporate new features. The brand’s collection of voice-activated and touchless kitchen faucets now offers a “wash hand” command that walks consumers through the recommended steps for proper handwashing, activating the water for wetting and rinsing, along with audible guides for lathering and cleaning.
The company’s OnCue Plus Generator Management System will now be available with additional voice control. Kohler is launching a new OnCue Plus action on Google and a new OnCue Plus skill on Amazon Alexa to help homeowners control their Kohler standby generators whenever and wherever they are by just using their voice. This voice control feature will allow users to have easy access to their generators to ensure it is ready for any outage and provide them the peace of mind when they are away. Kohler Generators would be the first in the standby generator market to offer such voice control capability.
