Touchless home appliances, such as faucets and light switches that work without users touching them, are drawing attention amid the coronavirus pandemic. Before the outbreak, such appliances were welcomed for being highly convenient. Now they are becoming widely popular for their usefulness to help prevent infections as people need not touch them to use them.
There is a touchless kitchen faucet at a house in Setagaya Ward, Tokyo, where Mami Morita lives. The 50-year-old homemaker simply puts her hands close to the faucet, and water comes out. The spout has a sensor, too, so all she needs to do when doing the dishes is to put dirty dishes and plates in the sink, and the water automatically comes out.
When her family built the house two years ago, they decided to pay an extra 60,000 yen to install the faucet. Thanks to the gear, she has no need to touch the faucet with a greasy hand during cooking, saving time to wash the faucet. Moreover, it has been very useful this year in helping to prevent virus infection, Morita said.
"When I come home, I don't need to touch the faucet with my hand, which makes me feel safe," she said.
The touchless kitchen faucet went on sale in 2006 from Lixil Corp. The Tokyo-based company used to emphasize its usefulness in cooking, but the product began drawing attention after the pandemic started. Its sales between April and June this year was 40% more than the same period last year, according to the company.
There are also growing moves to equip bathroom sinks with touchless faucets. For example, customers can choose to install a touchless faucet instead of a conventional one with the C-Line washroom equipment series from Panasonic Corp., headquartered in Osaka Prefecture. Apparently, more and more people are opting for touchless faucets when reforming their bathrooms.
There is also a growing interest in light switches that work without touching them.
Iris Ohyama Inc., based in Miyagi Prefecture, produces ceiling lights that are activated by sound. Install the light in a room, call "Iris," followed by "Turn the light on," and the light automatically goes on. There is no need to look for a switch even in a dark room. The light, equipped with a mic and other gear inside, can be used in an environment without the internet as well. It is available from 9,480, yen plus tax.
There are also LED light bulbs equipped with a sensor, which go on when someone walks by. The lights can be used for entrance halls and corridors inside a house. Their sales in August was 1.8 times the same month last year.
Among the popular touchless appliances are not only products that can be activated without touching, but also items that makes it possible for users to avoid direct contact with other people. A good example is a home delivery box, with which a user can receive a package and other deliveries without meeting the delivery person face-to-face.
Furemusu Light, a home delivery box released by Sankyo Tateyama, Inc., based in Toyama Prefecture, has a hanko seal stamp function. When a delivery person inserts a delivery slip in the slot on the side of the box, it becomes automatically stamped with a hanko seal. The largest type of the product can accommodate two bags of rice weighing 10 kilograms.
"You can use the box when you're not at home, and also when you can't answer the door because you've just finished taking bath, for example," a company official said.
Housing journalist Kazuyuki Yamashita said: "Non-contact-type housing appliances are drawing attention right now as a preventive measure against infection. However, they have always been convenient and make home living more comfortable. There are many types that can be installed when renovating your house. Why don't you take this opportunity to try them?"
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