Review: U by Moen smart voice controlled faucet

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We made a big decision to renovate our kitchen during the pandemic. While I’ve got much better organization now, I also made sure to add some smart technology. I’m Erin TGC and I’ve been really wanting to install a smart faucet, specifically the U by Moen smart faucet. Why? In two words: voice control. This faucet, when combined with an Amazon or Google smart speaker and digital assistant lets you do things like ask for precise measurements of water, specific temperatures or a combination of each. I’ve had this faucet in for a couple weeks and I’ll tell you what it’s like to use in my hands-on review

There is a very important component of this tap you need to know about: it needs power.
You have two options for that - it takes batteries, 6xD cells to be exact, but there is also an optional AC adapter you can buy if you want to get more reliable power.

While a DIY installation of this tap is definitely possible—and I can and have installed a smart tap like this one before—we had our contractor do this for us as part of the renovation.

With the tap in, you’ll get things set up using the Moen app. You’ll need to create or log into an account, then you press the small reset button on the control box under the sink to put it into pairing mode. A small LED light on the tap will blink to confirm.

Then you go to your phone’s Wi-Fi setting and connect to the Moen Faucet you should see there. Seconds later a green light should confirm you’re connected. I was ready to go in minutes.

Let’s dig in on how you use this device…

At its most basic, this faucet can be used with the handle.

There’s also a motion sensor on the top curve of the handle for hands-free use. The responsiveness of the sensor is really good, and a small LED light will actually show you the water temperature using colour, at a glance.

I actually really like the placement of the sensor. IN my old faucet it was on the bottom front; having it on top it means it doesn’t get triggered if you’re just putting something in the sink, for example.

Voice control is the biggie in this tap. You will need a separate smart speaker or digital assistant device to use it, and it helps greatly if that device is located near the tap.

U by Moen works with both Google and Alexa….
With Google also you need to use the key phrase “ask Moen”… not “tell” Moen or “get Moen to…” So you’d say Ok G, Ask Moen to dispense 1 cup of water. If you’re having any issues with Google Assistant it might be in how you’re asking for commands.

Next I tried linking Alexa and that worked also. Since I have the Amazon Echo Show 10 3rd Gen in the kitchen, so that’s the Assistant I went with mainly.

Using your voice assistant you can ask for the top to be turned on or off. The response time and delay is fairly quick, though there is a tiny bit of a lag, which you easily get used to and adjust for.

You can ask the faucet to do the measuring for you. I double checked the measurements of water against my measuring cups and spoons and they were accurate!

I also tested out the temperature measurements and while they are limited to some extent by how hot you allow your water heater to make the water, I found the temperatures were accurate also.

You can also create custom Presets. I created a preset to fill the dog’s water dish, another for the coffee pot, one for the watering can, and another to fill the water filter pitcher.

When creating your presets you also have the ability to customize them. With the dog water for example, I want it to be cold, so the faucet will run the water until it’s cool, then stop. I wave my hand over the sensor and it will dispense just the right amount.

Inside the Moen app you also have the ability to control the highest temperature too.

You can also say “Alexa, Ask Moen to wash my hands” and it will turn on the water to wet your hands, pause for 20 seconds while you soap up, then turn on again to rinse.

Overall I love this tap. The voice control with Alexa and Google works amazingly well, though as I noted earlier, you do need to make your voice commands very specific.

I love the convenience of calling out measurements, or adjusting water temperature with my voice. I found the U by Moen faucet is accurate too. I’m really glad we added it to our new kitchen, and I would definitely recommend it for your evolving smart home.

The biggest downside is that yes, there is a delay from ask to action when using a voice assistant. You do get used to it and there’s no real delay with motion sensing or manual use.

U by Moen smart faucet sells starting in the $600CAD or $400USD range, depending on the model you choose, and you can get it from places like Amazon or home improvement stores.