Moen Smart Faucet with Motion Control review: A whole new wave

Price When Reviewed

$897.80

Best Prices Today: Moen Smart Faucet with Motion Control (Sinema in chrome, model no. S7235EV2C)

$544

Few home fixtures get as much use as the kitchen faucet, so it makes sense to splurge when it’s time for an upgrade. Moen’s latest high-end offering—the Moen Smart Faucet with Motion Control—is not only high quality, it’s a kitchen brainiac, controllable with both voice commands and gestures. It also ties into the Moen Smart Water Network (more on that later).

This isn’t Moen’s first smart faucet. I reviewed the company’s U by Moen product around this time in 2021. I remarked at that time that voice control was a whiz-bang feature, but that turning the faucet on and off with a wave of your hand was far more useful. With this new model, gestures can accomplish even more.

Moen Smart Faucets are available in a wide range of styles and finishes, but they all perform the same. I happened to choose the Sinema model in chrome (it’s also available in matte black, polished nickel, and stainless steel).

Gesture control

Michael Brown/Foundry

Michael Brown/Foundry

Michael Brown/Foundry

As before, a motion and proximity sensor is built into the bend of the faucet’s neck. Wave your hand over the sensor from left to right, and the faucet will dispense hot water; wave it from right to left, and the faucet will dispense cold water; swipe down toward the sink, and warm water will flow. The earlier model would dispense water with a wave, but you had to use the handle to adjust the temperature of the water that came out (unless you asked for a preset temperature with a voice command).

A color LED in the motion sensor glows—solid at first, to indicate it has recognized your gesture—then blinking purple until the water reaches the temperature you’ve preset in the app. At that point, the LED changes to a solid color: blue for cold water, red for hot water, and purple for warm water.

This isn’t an instant hot water dispenser, however; it will take time for the hot water in your water heater tank (or your tankless heater, if you have one) to course through your home’s pipes and emerge from the faucet. When you want to stop the flow of water, you just push your open hand down across the sensor toward the sink. If you want a slower flow of water, swipe across the sensor twice in the direction of the water temperature you want.

Michael Brown/Foundry

Michael Brown/Foundry

Michael Brown/Foundry

You can also adjust the flow rate in the faucet’s settings in the app, and there’s a button on the pull-out sprayer that temporarily boosts the flow. Pressing different buttons switches between spray and stream modes. A weight on the hose inside the cabinet helps to pull the head back into the neck.

Unless you want to use the handle or pull the spray head out of the faucet’s neck, you’ll never need to touch the faucet at all. You can even program the faucet to automatically shut off after 1, 2, 5, 10, or 15 minutes following the sensor is activated or a voice command is issued.

Voice commands

The Moen Smart Faucet with Motion Control can be controlled with either Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant voice commands. This is the feature you’ll want to show off when you’re demonstrating some of the cool things your smart home can do. While you can accomplish an impressive array of functions with voice commands, I find that I rarely use them these days. Your mileage may vary, of course, because the options are compelling.

For starters, you can order the faucet to dispense a precise amount of water at a precise temperature by saying “Alexa, tell Moen to dispense one cup of water at 100 degrees.” The faucet will turn on the faucet and run the water until the stream reaches the desired temperature and then stop. You can also just ask for hot water. When you wave your hand over the faucet, it will dispense the requested amount of water at the requested temperature. Alexa will tell you what to expect and what you need to do next. The faucet can dispense as little water as a teaspoon if you need it.

If you prepare recipes that call for water (baking perhaps being the best example) you can create presets that will dispense the amount of water you need—with the option of a specific temperature—with a voice command. There’s an existing preset for mixing Kodiak Cakes pancakes, and another for handwashing. Families with infants might appreciate the ability to dispense precise amounts of warm water for mixing formula or baby cereal—unless you prefer filtered water and you don’t have a system connected to the faucet (Moen offers such solutions too, of course).

The Moen Smart Water Network

Michael Brown/Foundry

Michael Brown/Foundry

Michael Brown/Foundry

Being a major plumbing fixture manufacturer, Moen offers a full range of smart products, including the Flo by Moen Smart Water Detector we reviewed in June 2020, the Moen Smart Sprinkler Controller we reviewed in August, 2023; and the Flo by Moen Smart Water Monitor & Shutoff we reviewed in May, 2024. The network also includes a smart sump pump monitor and a shower (for remodels or new construction).

All of these products can be monitored and controlled in the Moen Smart Water Network app, which offers several benefits. For example, you can put all the compatible plumbing devices in one of three modes: Home, for day-to-day use; Sleep, when you will be using a large amount of water and don’t want the smart water shutoff to think there’s an emergency and that your main water line should be closed; and Away, for those times when you’ll be gone for an extended period of time. With this last setting, the shutoff valve will be more vigilant about monitoring water use and will take quicker action to shut off your water if a leak is suspected.

Michael Brown/Foundry

Michael Brown/Foundry

Michael Brown/Foundry

There’s a Winterize setting that’s ideal for vacation properties. If you have a Flo by Moen smart valve, it will shut off your water supply and open the Smart Faucet to reduce the water pressure in your pipes, reducing the chance they will freeze and potentially burst in cold weather. Even without the smart valve, you can activate a Freeze Protection setting in the Smart Faucet that will monitor the temperature inside the sink cabinet and trickle water from the faucet to reduce the chances that your water pipes will freeze.

Installation

Michael Brown/Foundry

Michael Brown/Foundry

Michael Brown/Foundry

Installing the Moen Smart Faucet with Motion Control is only slightly more complicated than installing a conventional faucet. The biggest difference is that your hot and cold water lines connect to a battery-powered control unit, and a single hose goes from that box to the faucet. The controller requires six D-cell batteries, which are housed in their own box. Moen says these batteries should last for a full year, but I’ve found they last for about six months at best. If you’re sensitive about how many batteries you’re throwing away, Moen offers an AC power supply that relegates the batteries to a backup power supply in the event of an outage.

The faucet needs just one hole in your sink deck, so you might need to buy hole covers if your sink has more than one. Moen does offer an optional plate that will do the same in a more attractive fashion, but it’s yet another accessory that further adds to the cost of the faucet.

Should you buy the Moen Smart Faucet with Motion Control?

If you’re just starting your smart home journey, there are a lot of places in your home you’ll want to upgrade before you get to the kitchen sink. Most people start with lighting and go from there. That said, if you’re ready for a kitchen upgrade—or if you’re replacing your kitchen faucet anyway—and can afford to splurge, the Moen Smart Faucet with Motion Control is a wonderful product.

Even if you don’t make heavy use of its voice-command features, using gestures to turn the water on and off and control its temperature is supremely convenient. And the faucet itself is elegantly designed, well crafted, and it should last for decades (Moen covers it with a limited lifetime warranty).

What’s more, the Moen Smart Water Network makes a compelling case to upgrade most of your plumbing fixtures to Moen’s smart products over time.