I am a little germ-phobic, but what I love about today's airports is that when you go to the bathroom you don't need to touch anything. In Japan, even the disposable seat covers are automatic. The toilets flush on their own and the sinks automatically dispense hand soap and warm water. There are even automatic hand towel dispensers – brilliant handy, hygienic and smart. But what is even smarter is that this technology has now come home.

Imagine making spaghetti and meatballs for dinner and your hands covered in hamburger. As you finish rolling up the meatballs, you need to wash up and instead of having to touch your kitchen taps to turn on the water, all you need to do is place them under the faucet and water flows automatically.

This smart technology is convenient and hygienic for handling and washing meat and food in the kitchen, easy for kids and a whiz at cleanup time. Plumbing is getting very smart these days as are the new homeowners, who opt for this hygienic, sophisticated, affordable and efficient technology.

Recently I had the opportunity to install the Pascal Culinary Faucet from Brizo, with smart technology, into a home we are building. The only difference between a standard faucet and a smart faucet is that you will need a power source beneath your sink; generally this is no problem as the electrician can tap into the power source for the dishwasher.

Brizo is the first company to make this technology available for residential use. Traditionally, this technology was employed in commercial applications such as schools, airports and shopping malls as a way to reduce vandalism, increase hygiene levels and water conservation. The driving forces behind the development of the Pascal faucet for homeowners were hygiene and water conservation.

"The average family turns on the kitchen faucet between 40 and 90 times a day – just think how many times we just leave the faucet running between uses, and imagine the water savings if the faucet turned itself on and off (within two seconds) before and after each use," says Anita Griffin, brand manager for Brizo.

A kitchen faucet should be viewed similarly to a kitchen appliance; in fact you probably get more use out of the faucet than the mix master.

This is an extremely intuitive product, one that allows you to make it work for you, and how you work in your kitchen. You can choose to have the hands-free on full operation or use touch technology (just tapping any part of the faucet will turn on the water for you) or use it as you would a traditional faucet.

"When you think about the whole green movement, this technology is a winner all around," says Griffin. "Hygiene is another important plus with this technology. Consider opportunities to cross- contaminate food when preparing dinner for your family. For example, if you are cooking a chicken dinner do you disinfect your faucet between washing the chicken, the potatoes, the vegetables and the salad? Probably not."

The Pascal faucet starts at approximately $1,100 and is available in either chrome or stainless steel. Although more expensive than a standard faucet I believe that it is a smart investment. Consider the water savings, the improved hygiene and even the safety of your kitchen, as you can preset the water temperature; this is especially important if you have small children.