Have you ever stood in front of your kitchen water faucet with your hands covered in bread dough or meat juice? And have you wished it would turn on by itself? Well, that is possible now! The Moen U and Delta VoiceIQ faucets are both smart faucets. This means that they can be controlled with voice commands. But there are several differences between the two.
The Moen U and the Delta VoiceIQ smart kitchen faucets let you use voice commands to dispense a specific volume of water. But the Moen U technology is even more advanced. You can specify the temperature of the dispensed water. It is also a touchless faucet, and it comes with a smart app. There are some other differences as well.
In this blog post, I discuss the similarities and differences between the Moen U and the Delta VoiceIQ. Unfortunately, reading Amazon reviews is often not helpful when deciding between smart faucets. I explain why in the section below.
Why Reading Amazon Reviews Of Smart Kitchen Faucets Is Often Misleading
Moen and Delta produce many different faucet styles. Often, the names of the smart and dumb versions of the same faucet style are the same.
Because of this, people often leave reviews for the incorrect product. You will find many reviews for dumb touchless faucets from Moen on smart faucet pages. Be aware of this when you are doing further research!
10 Similarities Between Moen U And Delta VoiceIQ
1. Both Moen U And Delta Voiceiq Faucets Respond To Voice Control.
Both smart faucets let you use voice commands to turn the water on and off. You can also use voice control to dispense specific measurements.
2. Both Smart Faucets Integrate With Amazon Alexa And Google Assistant.
You can link a Moen U or a Delta VoiceIQ smart kitchen faucet to both Alexa and Google. Both are not (yet) compatible with Apple HomeKit.
3. Both Moen U And Delta Voiceiq Let You Dispense Specific Measurements.
You can use voice commands to instruct the faucets to dispense a certain volume of water. For example, you can say “Alexa, tell Delta to dispense 3 cups of water.”
The Moen smart faucets can dispense water amounts from one tablespoon to 15 gallons.
Both brands understand requests in ounces, cups, pints, quarts, gallons, liters, and milliliters. This is great for when you’re following a recipe from a different country.
Both brands also allow fractional measurements, such as half or quarter cups.
4. Both Moen U And Delta Voiceiq Let You Create Volume Presets.
You can create presets for water volumes that you dispense often. For example, you could save volumes for filling the dog bowl or making a baby bottle. You can also save volumes for filling the kettle or your favorite water canteen.
Moen U presets can be created on the app. Delta VoiceIQ presets must be set on the Delta website.
- Both The Moen U And The Delta Voiceiq Need A Power Source To Function.
The Moen Smart Faucets come with a battery pack that takes 6 D batteries. Based on information from the Moen website, these batteries should last for two years.
Moen also gives you the option of buying an extra AC adapter to plug the faucet directly into a power outlet. This adapter is relatively expensive.
But The Moen faucets won’t function at all when they are not connected to power. So I would suggest purchasing the adapter and using a power outlet most of the time. This way, you have a backup when your power goes out.
The Delta VoiceIQ faucet requires both an AC adapter and six AA batteries. The batteries power the faucet itself. The AC adapter powers the VoiceIQ module.
6. Both Moen U And Delta Voiceiq Have A Limited Lifetime Warranty On Their Faucets.
Both brands also have a 5-year warranty on electronic components.
You can find the full warranty conditions for Moen faucets here.
You can find the full warranty conditions for Delta faucets here.
I have read several negative reviews about the durability of both brands.
Moen customers often complain that the parts simply wear out after a while. This can result in leaks. Although the company is mostly quick to replace the damaged parts, these leaks can result in damage to your home. Your cupboards and floors can become warped. These costs are not covered by a warranty.
So make sure that you check for leaks regularly!
Delta customers have complained of the faucets rusting after a few years.
7. Both The Moen U And The Delta Voiceiq Have LED Lights Indicating The Water Temperature.
The Moen U has an LED light on the water sensor (at the top of the faucet arch). The light shines blue when the water is cold and different shades of red for warmer temperatures.
The light on the Delta VoiceIQ faucets is visible from across the room. You can thus “see” the water temperature before using voice control to turn the water on. But if you want to change the temperature, you’ll have to walk to the faucet to turn the handle.
8. The Faucets Are Similar In Price.
Both the Moen U and the Delta VoiceIQ faucet ranges start at around $700. The price can increase based on the design of the faucet, as well as the faucet finish.
But models from both brands are available from online retailers like Amazon for a lot cheaper. So it is worth shopping around a little!
9. Both The Moen U And Delta Voice IQ Have Pull-Down Spray heads.
The pull-down spray heads make it easier to clean the sink itself, and pots and pans that are very dirty.
The Delta faucets make use of Delta MagnaTite® Docking technology. The magnets in this system let the spray head pop back into position very easily.
But the Moen U spray head also docks into position very well.
10. Both Moen U And Delta Voiceiq Faucets Have An Automatic Shutoff.
The faucets will turn off after 4 minutes. This is great for when you or another family member leaves the tap running.
Four minutes is quite a long time, and you will waste water, but at least it does stop.
11. Both Moen U and Delta VoiceIQ faucet models have fittings with different numbers of holes.
You can buy different models from both brands that have either 1, 2, 3, or 4-hole fitting options. Make sure to check what your sink needs before buying a faucet!
7 Differences Between Moen U And Delta VoiceIQ
1. Moen U Has A Touchless Sensor. The Delta Faucets Have A Touch Sensor.
You can wave your hand above the Moen U sensor to turn the water on or off. This is practical if you have your hands full, or if they are dirty.
The sensor is on the top arch of the Moen U faucet. This is great because you don’t trigger it by placing dirty dishes into the sink.
The disadvantage of this sensor is that if you have young (or short) children, they may not be able to reach the sensor. You’d have to turn the water on for them unless they can use the voice activation.
The Delta VoiceIQ faucet can be touched anywhere on the faucet to turn the water on or off. This has the advantage that you won’t accidentally trigger a sensor just by moving around the faucet.
It is also easier for small children to work the faucet.
2. Moen’s Voice Control Allows More Options
You can use voice control to specify the volume and temperature of the water that Moen dispenses.
For example, you can say “Alexa, tell Moen to dispense 1 cup of water at 110°F.
It allows water temperatures up to 120°F.
The Delta VoiceIQ will dispense the water at the temperature at which the handle is set.
But the Delta VOiceIQ does also have a function that allows you to warm up water, which is rather practical. For this feature, the handle must be set to the “hot” position.
3. You Can Buy A Separate Voiceiq Module For Delta Faucets.
If you want a Moen U smart kitchen faucet, you will have to buy a completely new unit.
But Delta gives you the option of buying a VoiceIQ Module. This module can retrofit any Delta Touch20 faucet manufactured after 01/01/2018. So you can turn your dumb faucet into a smart faucet.
The list price of the VoiceIQ Module on the Delta website is $161.15. But it is available from other retailers for less, so shop around!
4. Delta Voiceiq Does Not Have An App.
There is no Delta app to control your Delta VoiceIQ faucet. To connect your faucet to Google or Alexa, you need to log onto the Delta website.
You can also use the website to track your water usage.
One problem with the Delta setup is that if you use Google Voice Match, only one person can use the faucet.
The Moen smart faucets need to be connected to the Moen Smart Water Network App. Having access to your faucet data on your phone is a definite bonus. You can use the app to turn the water on or off and control the volumes dispensed.
So you can only control the Delta smart faucet in three ways. You can use voice commands, touch the faucet or manually move the handle. The Moen has these three options, plus the additional option of using the app.
But the Moen app is not without problems. At the time of writing, the app had a rating of 2/5 on the Google Play Store. The rating of 3/5 on the Apple App Store was slightly better, but also based on fewer reviews.
Customers complained that pairing their phones with the faucets was difficult. And they often had to re-pair them because the connection was lost easily.
Which is better? A smart faucet that doesn’t have an associated app at all, or one that has an app that often malfunctions?
At least the Moen developers have the option of updating the app in the future! Hopefully, this will make it more user-friendly!
5. For The Voice Command To Work, The Delta Voiceiq Handle Needs To Be On The “On” Position.
The water will come out of the faucet at the temperature that the handle is set to. If you want to make use of the warmup feature, the handle has to be set to “hot.”
If you have visitors to your home, chances are that they won’t leave the handle on the “on” position.
The Moen U faucets can be voice-controlled independent of the handle position. Moen is even releasing faucets without handles in the next few months!
6. When The Batteries Are Dead, Delta Voiceiq Will Still Work As A Regular Faucet.
But Moen U faucets (or at least several models) stop working entirely when the batteries die. It can’t even work as a dumb faucet. That is why I recommend buying the extra AC adaptor.
7. Moen U Has A Freeze-Protection Feature
The faucet can detect a low cabinet temperature. It then allows water to trickle through the pipes. This helps to prevent water from freezing in the pipes. In turn, this prevents the pipes from bursting.
Home Streamliner’s Take
Moen seems to have put a lot more thought into their smart faucets. The fact that their app isn’t up to scratch yet is unfortunate. But at least they have an app!
The fact that Delta hasn’t bothered to develop an app for a smart home device bothers me. If you are a smart homeowner and control all your other devices through your phone, surely you want an app for your smart faucet as well. Maybe they thought they would bring out the device first, and then produce an app later?
Either way, both faucets fall into the same price range. And the Moen U lets you dispense water at a specific temperature. So I think it’s the better option.
Unless of course you already have a dumb Delta faucet. It’s cool that they’ve produced the VoiceIQ module as a separate product. Being able to retrograde your existing faucet will save you money and let you try out the technology.
