ISH 2015 Trade Report
Jeff Patchell walked the hard yards for readers once again with a look around this year’s ISH Exhibition in Frankfurt. He even scored a seat on the most outlandish toilet throne known to man – a little more on that later…
ISH was once again quite an event and attracted its usual ~200,000 visitors, with around a third of them coming from outside of Germany. And the Australian’s and Kiwis were there in ever increasing numbers.
Sustainability is a key issue for all of us but Europe has been more driven when it comes to energy efficiency (due to critical energy supply issues), which has for a long time been strongly reflected in the energy and air-conditioning parts of ISH. Australasia on the other hand has been ahead of Europe over the past decade or two when it comes to water efficiency, but the Europeans are now taking water efficiency more seriously.
One of the most important bathrooms trends happening globally is the move towards barrier-free or ‘access’ solutions; a direct result of the fast changing demographics in most Western countries and the commitment to making life easier for the disabled.
The German plumbing contractors association (ZVSHK) claims that of the 495,000 bathrooms their members have installed over the past 12-months, a third of them were barrier-free. That’s not a trend but a giant movement in product supply, installation expertise and business opportunity. We’ve yet to fully embrace the barrier-free movement to that degree in our local markets.
This product review focuses mostly on new products and technologies for the bathroom sector, where there were some significant ideas worthy of a second look. The degree of change in the piping, valves and boiler/hot water sectors was not quite as noticeable but no doubt there will be new fine-tuned products from those sectors launched here over the next year or so.
GETTING A SECOND BITE AT LOST SHOWER ENERGY
Over the past couple of years Plumbing Connection has featured a number of products that have aimed to re-use the heat lost from shower water, to preheat the incoming cold water before it reaches the mixing valve. The attractions in terms of saving energy/money are obvious but making the pay-back work and the installation simple have been the challenges.
We spied two interesting new solutions, one for OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) and the other a bolt-on solution. Both claim to be able to lift the incoming cold water temperature from 10°C to around 25°C.
The first one called the Joulia-Inline claims to be able to save more than 50% of the energy normally lost in the flushed shower water. The Swiss manufacturer is looking to sell the technology to companies all over the world who make shower trays and drains. The compact Joulia unit is invisible in the shower floor and has no moving parts that require maintenance. This heat-exchange unit is a simple idea – which means it has a high chance of success. In talking with Reto Schmid, the Joulia CEO/Co-founder at his ISH stand, he was very satisfied with the interest shown in the product from around the world, including Australia and New Zealand. Laufen, one of Europe’s most respected shower unit suppliers, has already integrated the Joulia into some of its products.
Another take along the same theme came from a Portuguese company with a product called the Zypho. This product can be integrated into a new-build specification or where there is sufficient room and access below the shower base, so it can be retrofitted into the existing plumbing system.
The Zypho is not meant to be removed (the Joulia can be more easily accessed) once it is installed but through the waste outlet you can access a filter and trap to remove any hair or other blockages.
The real test for these drain water heat recovery units will come in the form of meeting our WaterMark requirements and satisfying potential specifiers, with energy-savings and payback performance data, confirmed by independent third parties.
SO, A BIT OF FUN TO START WITH
Yes this is me daring to be pictured while sitting in this ridiculous piece of bathroom furniture that at first had me believe it had been put together as an attention-getter for the stand. But no, they claim it is for real and they will have it on the market later this year.
It’s obviously a toilet for the man who can’t afford to get away from his office for too long. There’s a slide-away shelf for your laptop and other storage bins for items you might deem necessary when nature calls.
It’s from Forsan Ceramics, a growing Middle-East supplier from Saudi Arabia and they can supply one for your man who has (nearly) everything.
HOW ABOUT A 360 IN THE SHOWER!
Now this is exotic – well, at least the demonstrator was.
If you want to make it in Bollywood you have to start somewhere and this lovely Indian lass was making every post a winner with her demonstration on the hour of the Jaquar JoyRing shower unit. And surprise, surprise, she was attracting quite an audience.
The ring is punctuated with shower jets that surround you with water as the ring climbs vertically up and down and back into a recess in the floor of the shower at the end of the experience. You can pre-set the unit to go as high as you like and for a pre-determined time. There is even some LED mood lighting above to add to the atmosphere. As the brochure says, ‘luxury and aqua-pressure therapy melded to create a glorious spa! experience’.
Jaquar is a formidable supplier of taps and shower systems from India.
BRING ON THE AUSSIES
RMC has flown the flag for Australia for many years and had a stand at ISH to chiefly support its European business but at most ISH’s there have also been a couple of other Aussie stands from smaller start-up companies. This time I was walking the aisles when I heard an Australian accent and spotted the guys from Bounty Brassware who hail from Sydney. They were launching their recently released Pop Down Waste™ for basins and it was attracting quite a crowd.
Their product works in reverse to pop-up wastes and is far more elegant for upmarket basins and baths. They are now busy evaluating the interest from suppliers which is the advantage of ISH as it brings all the major players to your door. The boys didn’t waste too much effort on their stand either. The word is that the daffodils may have blown the budget! Top marks for giving it a go fellas.
BYE, BYE BATH TOWEL
The Valiryo Body Dryer aims to replace bath towels and improve the drying experience. At first you might think this is a bit of overkill but for facilities like hotels, gyms and wellness centres it starts to make sense. There are also uses in the home, particularly for the ageing population who may be finding it harder to dry feet, legs and backs.
The elegantly styled unit from the Spanish manufacturer features 23 air vents that reach top to toe at a drying temperature up to 21°C. The control panel features 16 operating combinations and will memorise your preferences for your next use. Drying time is approximately three minutes. The unit can be housed in the shower cubicle or outside of it.
BARRIER-FREE SHOWER/BATH COMBINATION
We have featured similar products to this unit in past ISH reviews but they have been very luxurious and expensive. It now looks like the concept is trickling down to a mid-market level which is hopefully more affordable. 
For our domestic access market, such a product would be welcomed from both practical and space saving aspects.
SMART HEAD
The Kott-Smart is an innovative device that fits between a shower hose and the shower head. The device is a self-powered water meter which requires no battery to operate. It captures water and energy consumption, temperature and flow rate of each shower.
By alerting users to the amount of water and energy they are using, the inventors claim that in a typical domestic home, the product can save 440kWh of energy and 8500 litres of water. It can link to home automation systems via a Bluetooth interface.
SOFT TOUCH SHOWER TRAY
This is an interesting variation on the standard shower tray base which is generally cold to touch and slippery at times. This Soft Tray can be manufactured in any shape from 30mm thick soft polyurethane sheet that has been anti-bacterially treated.
The waste outlet and grate can be cut into place onsite.
NOT QUITE RIMLESS
As mentioned earlier, we have a detailed story on rimless toilets later on. However, there’s always someone with a different option and Ideal Standard demonstrated a soon-to-be- released toilet flushing technology called AquaBlade ™.
This system uses a reduced overhang rim which is fed with flushing water from the back of the bowl along the channels on both sides, from where it cascades through a series of micro-slots to wash down the pan. Ideal claim this technology means that 100% of the bowl surface is scoured, where as 20% of a normal rimmed pan is under-washed. Other benefits claimed are less splash and from an aesthetic viewpoint, when the seat is down, the reduced rim is virtually invisible.
BARRIER-FREE LEADERSHIP
Innovation often comes from unexpected quarters and Samsung clearly demonstrated they are thought leaders beyond the electronics that we best know them for. For ISH, Samsung Chemical Europe created a hotel wellness bathroom using its Staron® brand of thermoplastic material as the base material for all surfaces (walls, floors, bath, basin/bench etc.).
Samsung sees opportunity in the ever-growing travellers’ mobility market, which is in need of barrier-free facilities. Under the direction of Ursula Fuss, a well-respected German architect who specialises in practical barrier-free concepts and uses a wheelchair herself, Samsung created an inspiring concept that challenges the current boring monotony of hotel architecture, in order to cater for ageing/wheel chair bound guests. Normally such public facilities use interrupted elements such as ramps, sloping pools, inclined planes and the like, to cater for the needs of this segment of travellers. Well done Samsung, a great initiative.