A London-based company specialising in atypical areas of home automation has created a new piece of technology for the bathroom. It comes in the form of a fully automated bathtub that is energy-efficient and maintains a consistent water temperature for any amount of time.

Planning on taking a bath?

Even if you’re watching your favourite television show, packing up after a long day’s work at the office, or sitting in an Internet café, you can set the temperature and water level of your bath so it’s ready to go when you set foot in the door.

Bathomatic is an example of an automated digital bath filler. At the touch of a button or a click of a mouse, the bath can automatically start to fill, adding bubbles and perfumes if required.

It is the brainchild of the London-based company Unique Automation, which was set up in 2004 to focus on the increasing demands for automation in non-typical areas of the home. Over the past 12 months, their range of products has expanded to include a number of bathroom innovations.

Unique Automation’s Fredy Vasilev says Bathomatic is ideal for hotels and care homes, as it creates a correlation between time and safety.

“Our ultimate goal is to have it fitted as a standard on all bath tubs. When we fill the tank of our vehicle with fuel there is a mechanism that stops the pump when it is full to prevent fuel getting all over us and to eliminate wastage. Bathomatic is like this mechanism, but for the bath tub,” he says.

The filling process for Bathomatic is controlled through a micropressor and the lowering of a motorised plug, which aims to prevent flooding and scalding, saves both energy and water.

During filling, the water temperature in the bath tub is monitored and the temperature of the incoming water is adjusted to stay within the safety limits.

This compensates for the temperature losses through the walls of the bath and to the ambient temperature. Between baths, the system is fully drained to maintain hygiene levels.

Bathomatic is controlled from a small, wall-mounted touch screen user interface that comes in a white or black all-glass front, however they can also be customised to suit any bathroom design.

It can also be controlled from any other location, via a LAN through a PC or any automation system via RS232. Users can connect to their bath via their mobile phone, laptop/personal computer in the home, or even an internet café.

And you don’t have to build a new house to install Bathomatic, as it can be retro-fitted by a qualified plumber. The system requires only electrical power, as well as hot and cold water supplies.

“The customer can keep their taps and accessories; Bathomatic is just an added feature. It is invisible, just the way technology should be,” Fredy says.

The range also includes a waste assembly with filler option. Along with the touch-screen interface, this the only visible part of Bathomatic and available in a range of nine metal and paint finishes, from standard chrome to solid gold. This feature helps to prevent overfilling, as the patented waste assembly is equipped with depth and temperature sensors.

“Bathomatic removes most of the concerns typically associated with water in the bathroom. If a power cut occurs, all the equipment would naturally stop working being electric and the water mixing valve will stop discharging water in the bath tub,” he says.

“It is the new way to use the bathtub. The look and feel is the same as before, but the efficiency and comfort are at a new level, modern, efficient and eco-friendly.”

There are four products in the Bathomatic product range:

Bathomatic basic is the starting point of bathtub management. When the bath has been filled, water temperature is controlled by emptying small amounts of water and adding hot water. Its features include temperature control, water depth control, nine programmable presets and patented solutions.

Bathomatic eco is an environmentally-friendly bathtub management system. It incorporates an in-line heater and a circulation pump, which keeps the water at a constant temperature for any length of time without letting water out. Between baths, the system if fully drained to maintain hygiene levels. Its additional features include typical energy use for water temperature maintenance around 1kW/hr (varies).

In addition to the in-line heater and circulation pump, the Bathomatic eco ultimate has an added extra of four to eight fragrance dispensers. Every preset stores perfume and bubble bath and you can mix your own aromas which are dispensed during the filling process.

Bathomatic eco whirlpool ultimate is compatible with most whirlpool systems. Its additional features include an added whirlpool functionality and Whirlpool User Interface. The functionality and controls of most whirlpool systems are maintained while the Whirlpool User Interface can control jets and chromatherapy LED light control.