This week we asked one of our Engineers to tell us a little about the trends we are starting to see in faucet technologies…
Touch less faucets, water conserving faucets, energy conserving faucets, no lead faucets, turbine faucets; all these are 
examples of the ever-changing plumbing faucet world. Emerging faucet technologies are constantly being developed. Whether it’s a company trying to have the first to market concept or just trying to appease the current market, development of new products is happening in every faucet company.
The two main focuses of faucet companies are conservation and quality. Style of the faucet and how it will appeal to the customer eyes is also important, but it could look great and perform very poorly.
Conservation of water and energy is the main focus that drives any project if a company is looking for the newest and greatest. The main idea is to have a faucet that looks great and will save the customer money. Many faucets that are used in commercial setting are most of the time installed with a .5 gallon per minute flow control. Most time in commercial settings they use electronic faucets that turn the water on automatically via sensing the user’s hands under the faucet. The faucets use an AC/DC electrical current to power the unit.
Another emerging technology, in addition to faucets using minimal electric, are faucets that either regenerate or generate electricity to be used by the faucet. A regenerating faucet for example might use a turbine to generate electricity to be stored for later use. A generating faucet could be solar powered, generating electricity via a solar panel that is integrated into the faucet. Both these technologies have been developed to ensure the maximum use of resources at the lowest cost of operating to the facility.
When you look at a faucet, its main purpose is to deliver water to be used for washing and drinking, that’s where water quality comes in. No lead faucets are the latest trend in providing such quality. No lead faucets are made out of brass that has little to no lead in it (0.25% wetted surface content). This ensures that the water being provided from the faucet is as lead free as possible. These faucets are tested and certified to meet standards such as CA AB 1953, which outlines the requirements for no lead faucets.
Most faucet companies are trying to produce faucets with style and functionality. Future faucets must be appealing to the eye, but more importantly provide exceptional performance.
Speakman Company 