CE Pro May 2022 - 14

Wellscapes
Kohler Showcases Anthem Advanced
Digital Controls & Other Tech Comforts at KBIS
outlets on and off ... and
IT'S EASY TO SEE why
CEDIA wanted to partner
with Kohler in its efforts to
foster closer relationships
between custom integrators
and the kitchen & bath
design community.
During the recent KBIS
2022 event held in Orlando,
Fla., Kohler staged a massive
and busy booth front and
center on the well-attended
show floor featuring its hightech
and high-style shower,
bath, faucet, lighted mirror
and other products.
Just as the show was
kicking off, CEDIA had
announced the popular
Wisconsin-based brand as
the latest to join its CEDIA
Propel affinity program for
exclusive benefits to integrator
members, including
early access to Kohler's Authorized
Rep Service (ARS)
program in select major
metro areas.
In its KBIS booth, Kohler
offered looks at its latest
innovations such as its new
Anthem advanced outlet
digital showering platform
featuring slick touchscreens
that link up to Kohler Konnect
smart technology.
The company was showing
both its mechanical and
digital controls for shower
functions, highlighting how
bumping up to the Anthem
Digital Control gives owners
more ways to easily operate
multiple showerheads, pressure,
temperature and more.
" [Mechanical controls]
allow you to turn individual
14 | CE Pro May 2022
select individual pressure, so
it kind of gives you one step
up of control in your space.
When you go to digital,
you open up the amount of
control you have, " says Tom
Sindelar, senior product manager,
performance showering
at Kohler.
" In its simplicity, you can
turn different outlets on and
off - I have a rain head, I
have a shower head, that's
how I want it to work, " he
describes of the first step
in the setup process for the
smart showering experience.
" Step two is you can change
the flow, and when you have
a valve like this that has two
different zones - now you
can unlink them and have a
product in one zone medium
and the other zone all the
way up [in flow intensity], or
you can link them and have
them always be pared. "
The controller, which
delivers a haptic response to
users' inputs, provides myriad
options to tailor the experience
to the owner much like
an integrator might program
lighting controls or music
scenes.
" You have the option of
operating up to nine presets, "
Sindelar says. " So if you've
got your morning routine,
your evening routine, two
different people, kids, pets
- you can do a preset. There
are five 'experiences' that
Kohler preprograms - you
can choose one and it will run
the shower heads through
Kohler's big KBIS 2022 booth at the Orange County Convention
Center featured technology for its spa-like bath
and shower experiences.
different pressures and
temperatures. You can do the
same setup on the app. "
He adds that when the
system turns on it starts with
a default that's simple to
activate to the user's setting.
Plus, thanks to Bluetooth
support, controllers can
be placed in or outside the
shower, and not even necessarily
right near the shower
because of the remote control
capability.
Sindelar says that traditionally
controls need to be
where the valves are, but
in this case the valve can
be up to 30 feet away to
communicate via Anthem
Digital Control, creating
more installation flexibility.
When asked about
third-party control friendliness
with popular CI channel
providers, Sindelar notes
the smart home integrations
for now run through the
Konnect app and enable
voice activation via Amazon
Alexa and Google, and Kohler
is " continuing to add simple
integration " for those.
However, for more robust
smart abilities like commanding
music (for its Moxie
shower head and speaker incorporating
Harman Kardon)
and lighting simultaneously
with water functions, Kohler
has its DTV+ (digital thermostatic
valve) option. He
says integrators have been
drawn to that product, and
they can also anticipate an
open API down the road for
Konnect to play nicely with
CI channel systems.
" We've had digital showering
systems for close to
15 years, " Sindelar notes of
Kohler's long ties to tech.
" And our ecosystem works
great, but really what we've
found is the consumer that
would be shopping that is
wanting a more integrated
space. " -Arlen Schweiger
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CE Pro May 2022

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