The bathroom is increasingly becoming the focus of smart gadgets. These include electric toothbrushes, smart scales, high-tech hairdryers and radiator thermostats (list of the best). But there are also clever uses for clever technology in the shower.
For our Smart Bathroom guide: Smart shower head, 10-second toothbrush & toilet seat with app, we took a closer look at the Hansa Activejet Digital hand shower. She offers for her price of 110 Euro (Price comparison) not just a large display with a display of water consumption and water temperature. It can even connect to an app via Bluetooth. The shower head does not require a battery or rechargeable battery – it gets the necessary energy from the water flow.
In this guide we show other shower heads with additional functions, adapter plugs with displays and other solutions for always keeping an overview in the shower.
Water saving shower heads
To really save money in the shower, you basically need to lower the temperature and/or use less water. Even if lowering the temperature supposedly benefits our health, very few people want to forego their comfortable temperature when showering. Water consumption offers more savings potential. There are shower heads that let less water through.
These water-saving showerheads aren’t even expensive. So the user can use the DSQ Sasahip shower for 5 Euro Choose between five jet types, each of which allows different amounts of water to pass through. This is also available from brand manufacturers. Water-saving shower heads from Hansgrohe cost 18 Euro or 33 Euro. Even if these are a simple way to reduce water consumption and save time while showering, there are many who value a proper water flow. Understandable, after all, no one wants to spend ages rinsing shampoo out of their hair or washing shower gel off their body under a thin trickle. For those who are less sensitive, a simple water-saving shower head could be a quick-paying way to sustainably save energy and therefore money.
Smart shower head
If you want a really smart shower head that can be easily retrofitted, there is hardly any alternative Hansa Activejet Digital Hand Shower over. After all, it is the only shower we know of that transmits statistics to a smartphone app via Bluetooth and can also be configured there to a limited extent. It costs on Amazon 137 Euroother retailers listed in the price comparison below have them starting at 110 euros plus shipping costs.
Its shower head is quite wide at 120 cm and the numerous silicone nozzles produce a pleasant jet of water. On the back there is a round, unlit LC display with a diameter of around 6 cm. The Hansa Activejet Digital hand shower does not require any power supply from a battery or rechargeable battery; it gets the necessary energy from the water flow, which, according to Hansa, should be between 0.5 bar and 5 bar. In the test it works reliably. The display shows the temperature and water consumption as soon as you turn on the water.
Hansa Activejet Digital
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Due to the design, it’s hardly possible to do anything else, but it’s still impractical: If you want to check the water consumption and temperature while showering, you always have to take the shower head out of the holder in order to see the display on the back. But there is a colored LED on the bottom that turns yellow and then red depending on the water usage. In the standard setting, it changes to red after a throughput of 50 l. In the app, this value can be set to a maximum of 69 l. Very practical, especially for people who like to enjoy the pleasant feeling of warm water on their skin after washing their hair and body, in order to make their own showering habits more economical. When the LED turns red, it’s time to get out of the shower.
The corresponding app is simple and connects reliably to the shower head – if it still has energy. After turning off the water, the user still has about a minute to connect before the Hansa Activejet Digital runs out of juice. Luckily, the showerhead stores statistics internally, so you don’t have to slavishly connect to the showerhead every time you shower.
The app graphically displays the water consumption of the last ten and the last one hundred showers. This can be useful in a household with multiple residents to identify fluctuations in water usage and encourage people to shower more economically. Unfortunately, the statistics lack a time specification. Anyone who activates the app while showering receives real-time data on the flow rate, energy consumption in kWh, temperature and shower duration.
Hansa Activejet Digital Screenshot
Hansa Activejet Digital Screenshot
Disadvantage: The Hansa Activejet Digital hand shower probably reduces the water flow because of the energy-generating mechanics. We measure in our shower. After a minute, 13.2 liters of water comes out of the shower hose. With the Hansa Activejet Digital, the water volume is reduced to 9.4 l/min. Not ideal, but in our opinion bearable.
Overall, we can recommend the Hansa Activejet Digital hand shower. It is easy to install, produces a pleasant stream of water and, thanks to the adjustable color LED, helps to optimize your shower behavior. However, if you shower efficiently anyway and don’t spend too long in the shower unnecessarily, you can avoid such gimmicks. The statistics are practical. Especially in households with several residents, people who use an unusually large amount of water can be identified.
Shower head with temperature display
Even if you’re not ready to shower at a lower temperature, simple showerheads with a temperature display can help save energy or at least increase comfort. For example, in our shower it is necessary to run a few liters of water before the water temperature increases from ice cold to bearable. A temperature display helps you enter the shower at the right moment and avoid unnecessary waste of warm water.
Shower head with temperature display
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The shower head with temperature display that we looked at for this guide costs just under at Banggood including shipping from China 16 Euro. If you prefer to buy from Amazon, you pay 19,50 Euro (when purchasing 15-%-Coupon click). The shower head does not require a battery; similar to the Hansa Activejet Digital, it draws energy from the water flow. It is clearly audible when in use, but that doesn’t bother us in the already loud shower. Showering itself is pleasant, but it reduces the water flow more significantly than the Hansa Activejet Digital. Without a shower head we measured 13.2 l/min, with a shower head 8.5 l/min.
An illuminated temperature display is clearly visible on the underside of the shower head. The colored LED ring surrounding the nozzles is even more practical. When the water is cold it lights up in blue, when it gets warmer it lights up in green and from 42° Celsius onwards it lights up in red. This makes it easy to see, even in the corner of your eye, when the water reaches the comfortable temperature. What the shower head is missing is an indication of the amount of water used.
Adapter plug with temperature display
But even if you don’t want to change your favorite shower head, you can have the water temperature displayed without much effort. Adapter plugs are ideal for this. We took a closer look at the LW-101. It costs just under on Banggood 26 Euro. Anyone who buys from Amazon only pays approximately 18 Euro (click on 10% coupon when purchasing). This is installed between the faucet and the shower hose. The installation is easy, but a pipe wrench is required.
The illuminated and rotatable display shows the temperature clearly. This solution is elegant and looks chic. But here too the water flow decreases significantly. With the shower head removed and without an adapter plug, 13.2 l/min comes out of the shower hose again. With an adapter plug and without a shower head, the water volume is reduced to 7.9 l/min. That’s massively less and could bother many people. Second disadvantage compared to the Hansa Activejet Digital shower head: The adapter plug does not display the current water consumption.
Smart fittings
Smart fittings cannot be retrofitted quickly and are sometimes really expensive. For example, the Hansa Emotion Wellfit shower thermostat with shower system costs a lot on Amazon 961 Euro. It can be used to precisely determine the comfortable temperature. This means that there are no longer sudden temperature fluctuations while showering, for example when another resident turns on the tap or flushes the toilet. There is also a safety lock to prevent scalding. In addition, the user can determine the flow rate. The Hansa Emotion Wellfit shower thermostat also comes with Bluetooth and an app for statistics and settings.
If you are interested in clever shower fittings, you should take a look at well-known brands such as Hansa or Hansgrohe. But supposed no-name products also have many functions. The concealed shower system from Qrezaa for 999 Euro on Amazon, for example, promises similar functions to the Hansa Emotion Wellfit shower thermostat described above, but also comes with a large rain shower, a hand shower, numerous setting options, many colored LEDs and a Bluetooth speaker.
Conclusion
If you want a smarter shower, you have many options. The simplest and most practical is the Hansa Activejet Digital Hand Shower Even if they are with 137 Euro While it’s not exactly cheap on Amazon, it can lead to a real change in behavior, especially for people who tend to shower for too long. This ultimately allows you to save energy and therefore money. The statistics that can be viewed via the app offer additional added value.
With barely 16 Euro The shower head with a simple temperature display and colored LEDs is significantly cheaper on Banggood. The adapter plug looks downright elegant 18 Euro (click on 10% coupon when purchasing) on Amazon, which clearly shows the temperature. However, both solutions significantly reduce the water flow. Much more expensive, but also more universal, are digital smart fittings that maintain the water temperature even when there are fluctuations, determine the water flow and offer much more.