Smart Toilet Features for Modern Australian Bathrooms
A smart toilet makes everyday bathroom use more comfortable and more hygienic, but it asks more of you at the planning stage than a conventional suite. As well as choosing the functions you want, you need to think about the waste set-out, the water connection, electrical power, backflow protection and the compliance requirements that apply where you live.
For homeowners, renovators, builders and plumbers, all of that is best settled before the bathroom rough-in is finished. This guide covers what matters, using the Zenmo IQ Smart Toilet as the worked example — a full-size wall faced suite with integrated washing, heating, drying and hands-free operation.
What makes a toilet smart?
A smart toilet combines the normal flushing function with electronically controlled comfort and personal washing features. Rather than fitting a separate bidet beside the toilet, the washing system is built into the seat, and sensors handle the jobs you would otherwise do by hand.
In practice that means three things a conventional toilet cannot do: warm water washing with warm air drying, a heated seat, and hands-free operation from the moment you walk up to it.
Smart toilet features that improve everyday use
Hands-free operation
Sensor cover lifting raises the lid and seat as you approach. Automatic flush and off-seat flush handle the flush without a button, and foot control opens the seat and flushes with a tap of the foot. Between them, the two surfaces nobody wants to touch are the two you no longer have to.
Washing and drying
Rear, lady and kid wash, each adjustable, with a self cleaning spray that rinses the wand before and after use. Instant heating warms the water as it passes rather than storing it, so it does not run cold partway through. Warm air drying follows, and for most households it noticeably reduces paper use.
Comfort and hygiene
A heated seat ring, which is the feature people notice first in winter. A night light for 3am. Deodorisation while you are seated. On better models, a UV light and an aroma module working between cleans, and a foam function that treats the bowl.
How the Zenmo IQ Smart Toilet works
The Zenmo IQ Smart Toilet is a wall faced suite in gloss white ceramic, 730mm deep by 410mm wide by 845mm high. It looks like an ordinary two-piece toilet, which is deliberate — the washing, heating, drying, sensors and flush are one integrated fixture rather than a bidet seat bolted onto a pan.
It runs a hands free rimless tornado flush, carries a 4 star WELS rating, and is built to an extra height that is listed as ambulant compliant.
Rimless tornado flushing and water efficiency
Two ideas doing different jobs. Rimless removes the lip that runs around the inside of a conventional bowl — the place staining and smell start, because a brush cannot properly reach up under it. Tornado flush sends the water around the bowl so it swirls rather than dropping down the front, which scours the whole surface instead of just the path the water happens to take.
Together they are why a modern 4.5 litre flush does the work a nine litre flush used to do. The Zenmo IQ Smart Toilet is rated 4 star WELS at 3.5 litres average per flush, registration L47083.
Measure before ordering a smart toilet
This is where most smart toilet purchases go wrong. A model can have every function you want and still be unsuitable for the waste already in your floor.
The set-out is the distance from the finished wall to the centre of the waste. An S-trap goes down through the floor; a P-trap goes back through the wall. Measure what you have before you compare features.
Set-out is decided by the pan connector
On the Zenmo IQ Smart Toilet the connector determines the range, and there are three options:
| Trap | Set-out | Connector |
|---|---|---|
| P-trap | 180mm | Waste pipe connector |
| S-trap | 160–260mm | Vario connector (IS33), supplied |
The S-trap connector supplied with the toilet gives you 160mm to 260mm to work with. On a renovation, where the waste is already in the floor and moving it means lifting tiles, that 100mm of adjustment is often the difference between a straightforward swap and a much bigger job. If your set-out measures under 160mm, the supplied connector will not reach — worth knowing before you order rather than after.
Also check the water inlet position. This suite takes the water in at the back (left hand top) or at the left or right bottom, with a 790mm universal inlet set-out, and the waste outlet is 100mm.
Electrical power must be planned
A smart toilet needs mains power, and on a renovation this is the item that most often gets missed until the wall is closed up.
The Zenmo IQ Smart Toilet runs on a standard 220–240V supply, with two ways to bring it in. Concealed wiring is permanent in-wall cabling — the tidy option, and one that has to be planned before sheeting. Exposed wiring plugs into a normal outlet, and that outlet has to sit within a metre of the toilet.
Where water and power come through the access openings at the base, water on the left and power on the right is the recommended arrangement. All electrical work must be carried out by a licensed electrician in accordance with AS/NZS 3000.
Backflow protection and Australian requirements
Any toilet with a bidet function gets its water supply looked at more closely than an ordinary toilet, because there is a possible path between the bowl and the drinking water supply. This is the part of a smart toilet purchase that catches people out, and it is worth understanding before you order.
What protection is built in
On the Zenmo IQ Smart Toilet, the installation guide states dual check valves on the water supply and an integral high hazard air gap complying with AS 2845.2 — Water Supply Backflow Prevention, with the toilet compliant to WMTS 051 and WaterMark certified to AS 1172.1 and AS 1172.2 under licence WMK26997.
An air gap is the oldest and most dependable form of backflow protection there is, because water cannot travel back across an open gap of air. Building one into the appliance is different from bolting a device onto your plumbing.
Does that mean an RPZ valve is never required?
No, and nobody selling you a toilet can promise otherwise. The installation guide is direct about it: check local regulations to confirm whether an RPZ valve is required as part of your installation. Requirements vary with the property, how it is classified and the rules of your water authority, and property-level containment is a separate question from the fixture itself.
Ask your licensed plumber, or your local water authority or council, what applies at your address. It is a short conversation and far better had before the order than after.
Extra height and accessibility
The Zenmo IQ Smart Toilet is built taller than a standard toilet and is listed as ambulant compliant. That is the difference between lowering yourself onto a seat and simply sitting down, and between pushing yourself up off one and just standing.
It matters in two situations: where a build has to meet an accessibility requirement, and where a family bathroom simply needs to work better for an older parent or anyone with a sore back or a bad knee. You get the benefit without the fixture looking like a hospital fitting.
What comes in the box
Worth knowing before delivery day, because a missing part with the water off is an expensive hour.
- The cistern
- The pan with the smart seat already fitted
- The pan connector
- An accessories box: valve, stop valve and three-way valve, hose, remote control, power supply box and coupler, plus a starter 100ml bottle of foam and 50ml of deodoriser
Check every part against that list before your plumber starts.
Common mistakes when choosing a smart toilet
Choosing features before checking the set-out
A model can offer every comfort function you want and still not suit the waste position you already have. Confirm the measurements, the trap type and the water connection first, then compare features.
Leaving electrical planning until the end
Adding power after the tiling or the cabinetry is done is difficult and disruptive. Choose the toilet early enough for the plumber and the electrician to coordinate.
Assuming it is a DIY installation
This involves plumbing, water supply protection and electrical work. It has to be done by appropriately licensed tradespeople, with the plumber confirming the backflow requirements that apply.
Not checking what is included
Confirm which controls, hoses, valves and connectors come with the product. Do not assume the connector you need is the one in the box — on a suite with three set-out options, that is a real question.
Ignoring future maintenance
Electronic components, seals and consumables all have a service life. Ask what is covered, for how long, and how parts are obtained before you commit.
Warranty considerations
Warranty on a smart toilet is rarely a single figure, and the headline number usually covers the ceramic rather than the electronics. On the Zenmo IQ Smart Toilet:
| Part | Cover |
|---|---|
| Ceramic | 15 year replacement warranty |
| Toilet valves | 3 year replacement warranty |
| Toilet seat, hinges and button | 1 year replacement warranty |
| Labour | 1 year in-house labour warranty from date of purchase, excluding seat and hinges |
Conditions and exclusions apply. Ask for the full warranty terms in writing before you buy, whichever brand you are looking at.
Frequently asked questions
Does the Zenmo IQ Smart Toilet need electricity?
Yes. Power is required for the washing, heating, drying, sensor, display and automatic functions. It runs on a standard 220–240V supply, and any electrical work must be done by a licensed electrician.
Can it replace an existing toilet?
Often, yes. It depends on whether your existing set-out, trap type, water position, electrical access and available space suit it. The supplied S-trap connector covers 160mm to 260mm, which gives you some room to move on a renovation. A licensed plumber should confirm compatibility before you order.
Can it be installed as an S-trap or a P-trap?
Both. P-trap is 180mm. S-trap is 160–260mm using the IS33 Vario connector, which is supplied with the toilet. Check the installation documentation against your measurements before rough-in.
Does it have a conventional cistern?
Yes. A full height cistern and a wall faced ceramic pan, with the smart bidet seat integrated. That is why it looks like an ordinary toilet suite rather than an appliance.
Will it work during a power outage?
The washing, heating, drying and sensor functions need power. Check the operating manual supplied with the toilet for the manual or emergency flushing procedure.
Does the built-in air gap mean an RPZ is never required?
There is no universal answer. The integral high hazard air gap complies with AS 2845.2, but whether a further device is required depends on the property, its classification and your water authority. Your licensed plumber and the authority confirm it — and property-level containment is a separate question from the fixture.
Is the heated seat adjustable?
Yes. Seat ring heating, water temperature and air temperature are all adjustable, from the remote or from the side controls, and the display shows the current settings.
Is it suitable for a renovation or only a new build?
Either. A new build is simpler because the power and waste can be positioned from the start, but the wide set-out range makes it a realistic renovation option too — provided a power point can be reached.
Before you order
Five things to have settled, in this order:
- Measure the set-out from the finished wall to the centre of the waste, and note whether it is an S-trap or a P-trap
- Check where the water comes in
- Work out how power will reach the toilet, and whether it will be concealed or a nearby outlet
- Ask your plumber and water authority about backflow requirements at your address
- Confirm what is in the box, including which connector
Get those right and a smart toilet is a straightforward install. Get them wrong and it is an expensive day for everybody.
The Zenmo IQ Smart Toilet is available from Builders Warehouse Online with delivery Australia-wide. If you are not sure whether it suits your bathroom, send us your set-out measurement and a photo of the waste and we will tell you.
