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Touchless faucets are among the great technological miracles that offer convenience in use and enhance hygiene. The infrared sensor technology in touchless faucets allows water to flow through the faucet without a touch. The sensor will detect even the slight movement of your hand for activation.
Working in the kitchen often gets messy when excessive washing, including washing hands, can spread contamination from hand to the faucet and other kitchen areas. However, with a touchless faucet, you can eliminate the risk of contamination.
How do these touchless faucets work? Keep reading this guide to learn everything about these faucets, including their benefits and downsides.
You can also read our guide about how to remove the kitchen faucets.
What Are The Components of Touchless Faucet?
With a swipe of your hand, a touchless faucet turns on and off. The sensor installed inside the faucet detects motion without needing touch and transmits signals to the valve to turn on and off the water supply through the spout.
However, there are the following functional components of a touchless faucet that make it work efficiently:
Feature Of Touchless Faucet Sensor
A magical kind of sensor is located on the base of the spout or lip of the touchless faucet that detects the presence of any moving object and activates it. Whether it is the motion by hand or some other object, the sensor will turn on the water to run through the faucet.
In most advanced touchless faucets, the sensor has infrared light, which signals to turn on the faucet whenever hands get near the faucet lip or spout. The sensor turns off automatically after a few minutes when the hand moves away. In some faucets, an ultrasonic field sensor is present instead of infrared, which works similarly.
Power Source In Touchless Faucets
Touchless faucets get power through a few sources, including low-voltage current from an AC transformer or a dry cell battery. A touchless faucet will need electricity to work whatever power source is required.
In a battery-powered touchless faucet, a latching solenoid valve is present, which keeps turning on until power pushes it back to turn off. In contrast, the transformer-powered touchless faucet works by the continuous flow of electric current, which keeps the solenoid valve open to run water.
Solenoid Valve
Inside the faucet, the sensor is attached to control a solenoid-activated valve. This solenoid valve pushes and pulls like an electromagnet by relying on electric polarity.
Within the diaphragm valve, a rubber disc is located, which controls the flow of water. The diaphragm valve stays closed until the sensor detects some signal by hand or an object. Once the signal is detected, the solenoid will open the valve, allowing water to flow through the faucet spout.
The solenoid valve will shut off again when the hand or object moves away from the sensor. These valves also help deliver hot and cold water through some faucets, but this depends on the already directed instructions to the faucet.
Also, See: How To Replace Delta Faucet Cartridge?
Spout
All the automatic functions of a touchless faucet are located inside the spout, which is made of a variety of materials. Usually, the cheaper spouts are made of zinc, while the expensive ones are made of brass or copper.
These spouts have different finishes, from chrome to brushed nickel, to increase the durability of these faucets and give them an appealing look. A faucet assists best in increasing functionality along with adding aesthetics to your kitchen. That’s why it is significant to consider all the features and functions before choosing an advanced touchless faucet.
Waterproof Connector Cables
With other important faucet parts, waterproof connector cables help connect the sensor with a solenoid valve and AC adapter or power battery. These waterproof cables are designed to increase stability and make the whole control system reliable to resolve the problems caused by excessive humidity.
How Do Touchless Faucets Work?
Now you are familiar with the important components of a touchless faucet; it will be easy to understand how it works.
- The sensor in the faucet spout detects the presence of a hand or object to give a signal to the solenoid valve, which turns on the water to flow.
- When the object is absent, which the sensor has already detected, the solenoid valve will get the signal to shut off the water flow.
- If there is an ultrasonic sensor in your faucet, an ultrasonic field will detect the presence of a hand.
- The solenoid valve is functional for allowing and restricting the water flow.
- The spout contains optical fiber cables which detect signals through the sensor, while the waterproof connector cables act as a bridge to connect the sensor, solenoid valve, and batteries.
Pros And Cons of Touchless Kitchen Faucets
Every new technology brings advantages and disadvantages that make or break it. With the advantages, the touchless faucet technology stands out, while the downsides decide whether you prefer a touchless or a touch faucet.
Here we have enlisted some of the pros and cons of a touchless faucet to help you determine if it is worth purchasing or installing at home.
Pros of Touchless Faucet
- The touchless faucets are a great source of convenience for parents whose children do not know how to turn off the tap leaving it on to waste gallons of water.
- Installing a touchless faucet at home is the best way to save water and electricity bills. The system allows turning on the faucet only in times of need and shuts off automatically when not in use.
- These faucets offer maximum cleanliness because there is no need to touch any part of the faucet to activate the sensor or turn it off. There will be a less likely chance of germs spreading in your kitchen or bathroom.
- If you want to upgrade or renovate your different home areas by installing some latest technologies, you can get through different appliances, including touchless kitchen faucets.
Cons of Touchless Faucet
Though the advantages of touchless faucets aren’t few, there are some common problems you must consider when choosing them.
- Touchless kitchen faucets are ideal for water conservation, but their power source is an additional energy cost. If you have a battery-powered faucet, the battery will die soon, and you will spend money on replacing or recharging it to restore its normal operation.
- Some touchless faucets do not allow temperature change due to fixed temperature settings.
- It is a bit more tricky to install a touchless faucet than a touch faucet, and you will need to hire a plumber.
- The initial costs of touchless faucets are also high.
How Long Do Batteries Last In Touchless Kitchen Faucets?
Most touchless kitchen faucets are powered by 6 AA batteries or 4 AA batteries that operate well and last up to a year if used for 20 minutes daily.
Some lithium batteries in touchless faucets last up to two years, depending on the frequency of their use. When the battery dies, you will see the red light blinking on your faucet.
FAQs
How Are Touchless Faucets Powered?
Touchless faucets need electricity to work through batteries (Dry cell batteries), or an electrical socket (Low voltage AC) connected to the wall. Also, the power source will be mentioned on the packaging of your faucet so you can use the one you want to install.
Do Touchless Faucets Need Electricity?
Yes, touchless faucets need electricity to operate. However, their power source can vary from AC transformers to dry cell batteries.
Can A Touchless Faucet Work Manually?
Though the sensor present on the touchless faucet makes it functional to release water from the spout, there are also some manual modes to allow control. You can turn on your faucet manually by touching it with a finger, hand, or arm.
Read Also: What Causes A Faucet To Drip?
Wrapping Up
Though there is no doubt about the high price tag of touchless faucets, the efficiency of their operation and the benefits they offer make them worth the investment. These are highly popular due to their top-notch features and working principles.
Cleaning and maintaining these faucets isn’t a big deal, but you must be careful and avoid harsh chemicals. We hope the information will help you understand how touchless faucets work.
