Do You Need A Smart Toilet? | Elani
Before you spend on one, the honest answer to the hesitations that actually stop people: the electricity bill, power cuts, older UK plumbing, and whether it's overkill.
August 23, 2026
4 minutes
Before you spend on one, the honest answer to the hesitations that actually stop people: the electricity bill, power cuts, older UK plumbing, and whether it's overkill.
August 23, 2026
Elani's complete buyer's guide covers what a smart toilet does and how to choose one. This is the question that comes before that: do you actually need one, or is it a feature you'd never use?
Here's a straight answer to the hesitations that actually stop people.
The Elani Aura, in a bathroom built around it.
Last updated 23 August 2026 · Elani Journal
Barely. A smart toilet's heated seat and water heater are the main draws, and both operate in short bursts rather than continuously — broadly comparable to a kettle used briefly several times a day, not a permanently-running appliance. For most households, the annual cost is a genuinely small line item.
Most smart toilets retain full standard toilet function — flush and all — without power. You lose the bidet, heated seat, and automatic lid until power returns, but the toilet itself keeps working exactly as a normal one would. Worth confirming on the specific model you're considering, but it's the standard design across the category.
For most homes, yes, with two straightforward conditions. Water pressure needs to be reasonable for the bidet function to perform well — most UK mains supplies are fine. And the electrics need a fused spur outside the bathroom's splash zones, installed by a qualified electrician — a standard, contained job for anyone renovating, and not a reason to rule it out for an older property.
That depends entirely on what you'd use it for. If hygiene, comfort on cold mornings, or reduced toilet paper use (a realistic 80–90% reduction) matter to your household, it earns its place quickly. If none of that appeals and the bathroom is purely functional, it's a genuinely optional upgrade — plenty of considered bathrooms don't have one, and that's a fine choice too.
If you've ever stayed somewhere with one and noticed yourself missing it afterwards, that's a more reliable signal than any spec sheet. If you've never used one, it's worth trying before deciding either way.
No — if anything, it typically uses less overall, since it replaces significant toilet paper use with a small, controlled amount of water per use.
The toilet connection follows standard plumbing, but the electrical spur must be installed by a qualified electrician under UK Building Regulations — this part isn't a DIY job, regardless of how competent you are with the plumbing side.
If you're not replacing the toilet as part of wider work, a bidet seat — which retrofits onto your existing toilet — delivers many of the same benefits at a lower cost. A full smart toilet makes most sense when you're specifying a bathroom from scratch anyway.
Comparable to a standard toilet for the ceramic base itself — often 15+ years — though the electronic components are the part most likely to need servicing or replacement first.
Ready to choose one? See the Smart Toilet UK Buyer's Guide and the Elani Aura.
