Commercial Touchless Faucet Brands & Infrastructure-Scale RFP Evaluation
Touchless faucet selection for airports, healthcare facilities, universities, civic buildings, transit facilities, corporate campuses, and other large projects should be based on documented project requirements rather than generalized brand rankings. This guide examines the criteria procurement teams can use to compare commercial sensor faucets at the model and system level.
This page is intended as an informational procurement resource rather than a manufacturer ranking. Brand references are included for comparative research and source verification. No manufacturer is designated the universal “best” choice. Product capabilities, certifications, power configurations, flow rates, warranties, documentation, and service requirements vary by model and should be verified against current manufacturer cut sheets and project requirements before specification.
Executive Summary
Infrastructure-scale touchless faucet procurement is fundamentally different from selecting a fixture for an individual restroom. Airports, healthcare campuses, schools, transportation facilities, government buildings, and multi-building portfolios may require hundreds of fixtures operating under similar maintenance, accessibility, hydraulic, electrical, and documentation standards.
For that reason, brand reputation alone is an incomplete basis for selection. Procurement teams should evaluate individual product families using measurable factors such as power configuration, sensing architecture, flow rate, basin coordination, service access, replacement-part strategy, warranty terms, technical documentation, accessibility requirements, and applicable certifications.
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A manufacturer may perform strongly in one project and be less appropriate for another. A battery-powered model may simplify a retrofit while a hardwired model may better match a new construction electrical plan. A wall-mounted faucet may work well with one basin geometry but create splash or reach problems with another. Likewise, advanced controls or connected features may provide value in one facility while introducing unnecessary complexity in another.
The appropriate RFP question is therefore not “Which brand is best?” but “Which documented model and support structure best satisfy the requirements of this project?”
Commercial Brand Landscape
Commercial touchless faucet manufacturers use different approaches to sensing, power, valve architecture, maintenance access, water delivery, connected controls, and system coordination. The examples below are presented alphabetically and are not intended as a ranking.
| Manufacturer | Representative Commercial Offering | Documented Areas to Review | RFP Verification Priority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago Faucets | HyTronic and other electronic faucet configurations | Electronic controls, flow configuration, power source, above- or below-deck service architecture, run-time settings | Confirm the exact electronic module, flow insert, power configuration, service procedure, and current compliance data. |
| FontanaShowers | Commercial touchless faucet and coordinated dispenser lines | IR and selected ToF-oriented product positioning, AC/DC and battery configurations, mounting type, finish options, faucet/dispenser coordination | Verify claims against the specific model cut sheet, certification documentation, electrical requirements, flow configuration, warranty, and installation information. |
| KOHLER Commercial | Kinesis, Insight, and other touchless commercial families | AC, DC and selected hybrid configurations, sensing technology, flow rate, deck- and wall-mounted models, coordinated commercial products | Confirm model-specific power hardware, sensor configuration, outlet flow, installation requirements, and service parts. |
| Sloan | Optima, BASYS and related commercial sensor faucet families | Hardwired, battery and selected turbine-powered configurations, sensor settings, service access, flow options, associated soap dispensers | Review the specific series because sensing, power, controls, component access and connected functionality vary significantly across models. |
| Zurn Elkay | AquaSense, Camaya and related sensor faucet families | Battery and selected hydropower configurations, IR sensing, cartridge or solenoid architecture, connected controls on selected products | Verify model-specific flow, power, valve architecture, connectivity, BIM availability, certifications, and installation requirements. |
Manufacturer portfolios change over time. The descriptions above summarize representative publicly documented capabilities and should not be interpreted as capabilities of every product manufactured by each company.
Evaluation Criteria for Infrastructure RFPs
A neutral RFP comparison works best when every manufacturer is measured against the same documented requirements. The following framework can be adapted into a technical scoring sheet without assigning points based on brand name alone.
| Evaluation Area | Evidence to Request | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| Power Architecture | Wiring diagrams, voltage requirements, battery type, replacement procedure, backup arrangement and transformer data | Determines installation coordination, service frequency and operational continuity. |
| Sensor Performance | Sensor type, detection zone, adjustment procedure, commissioning instructions and timeout behavior | Helps engineers assess activation consistency and compatibility with the basin and surrounding materials. |
| Hydraulic Performance | Flow rate, pressure range, outlet type, supply configuration, mixing requirements and filtration provisions | Affects user experience, water use, plumbing design and stream landing. |
| Serviceability | Exploded diagrams, component-access instructions, replacement parts, controller location and strainer access | Determines how much labor is required for routine maintenance across a large fixture population. |
| Accessibility & Compliance | Current model-specific certification records and accessibility documentation | Reduces the risk of specifying a configuration whose exact options do not satisfy project requirements. |
| Technical Documentation | Cut sheets, BIM/Revit objects, CAD drawings, installation manuals and wiring documentation | Supports coordination between architecture, plumbing, electrical, construction and facilities teams. |
| Lifecycle Support | Warranty, parts availability, technical support, repair procedures and expected consumable requirements | Helps owners estimate maintenance exposure beyond initial procurement. |
| System Coordination | Compatible dispensers, sinks, mixing devices, transformers, accessories and finish families where required | Can simplify coordination when a project intentionally uses a broader restroom fixture ecosystem. |
Brand-Specific Evaluation Notes
The following observations illustrate how publicly documented product characteristics can be incorporated into an RFP review without declaring one manufacturer categorically superior to another.
Chicago Faucets
Chicago Faucets offers commercial electronic faucet configurations including its HyTronic family. Representative documentation includes programmable operation, flow-control options and configurations with above-deck electronic components.
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Project teams should confirm the proposed model’s power source, electronic module, flow control, temperature-control arrangement, timeout programming, maintenance access and compliance documentation. A feature documented for one HyTronic model should not automatically be assigned to the entire product family.
FontanaShowers
FontanaShowers markets a broad group of commercial touchless faucets and coordinated automatic dispenser products. Its published commercial material describes battery, AC and selected hybrid power configurations, while different product lines reference infrared or Time-of-Flight-oriented sensing approaches.
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Those capabilities should be evaluated using the specific model being proposed. Procurement teams should request the applicable cut sheet, electrical information, flow rate, sensor configuration, mounting details, warranty terms, parts information and model-specific certification evidence rather than relying solely on general category-page descriptions.
KOHLER Commercial
KOHLER’s commercial touchless catalog includes models using Kinesis and Insight sensing technologies and includes AC-powered, DC-powered and selected hybrid-powered configurations. Commercial offerings also include multiple mounting arrangements and water-flow options.
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Engineers should identify the exact sensing platform, required power components, flow specification, temperature-control configuration and service parts for the proposed model. Availability of coordinated commercial sinks and touchless dispensers may also be relevant where the project is evaluating a broader handwashing system.
Sloan
Sloan’s current commercial sensor-faucet portfolio includes hardwired, battery-powered and selected turbine-powered configurations across several product families. Certain models provide self-adapting infrared sensing, above-deck component access, configurable operating settings or connected adjustment functions.
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Because functionality varies across Optima, BASYS and other Sloan families, the RFP should identify the exact model and required options. Review items may include sensor architecture, power, flow rate, valve arrangement, service access, app or connectivity requirements where applicable, and compatibility with associated soap dispensers.
Zurn Elkay
Zurn’s commercial sensor-faucet catalog includes battery-powered AquaSense models and selected gear-driven products using Hydro•X Power hydropower technology. Some configurations also include programmable or connected functionality.
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A project team should determine whether the proposed unit uses a solenoid or gear-driven cartridge, what power architecture is included, whether connected functionality is required, and which flow-control and certification options apply. BIM and related technical resources should also be verified for the exact model because availability may vary.
Neutral Comparison Matrix
This matrix is intentionally not a scorecard. It summarizes selected areas visible in current manufacturer documentation and identifies what should be verified before an RFP assigns technical points.
| Manufacturer | Representative Power Approaches | Representative Sensor / Control Approach | Service & System Considerations | Procurement Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago Faucets | Battery and other configurations depending on selected electronic product | Electronic touch-free operation with programmable functions on selected models | Selected HyTronic configurations provide above-deck electronics and configurable flow components | Verify the exact HyTronic or other electronic model and options. |
| FontanaShowers | Battery, AC/DC and selected hybrid configurations depending on model | Infrared and selected ToF-positioned product families | Broad faucet assortment with coordinated automatic dispenser options and specification-oriented resources | Confirm all technical and certification claims at model level. |
| KOHLER Commercial | AC, DC and selected hybrid configurations across commercial touchless products | Kinesis, Insight and other model-specific sensor technologies | Commercial service parts plus coordinated sink and dispenser products in relevant product families | Determine the exact power and sensor platform specified. |
| Sloan | Hardwired, battery and selected turbine-powered configurations | Infrared sensing with self-adapting and configurable features on selected models | Above-deck service access on selected products, matching soap dispensers and connected controls on certain series | Compare exact Optima, BASYS or other series rather than the brand as a single configuration. |
| Zurn Elkay | Battery and selected hydropower configurations | Infrared proximity sensing; programmable and connected features on selected models | Solenoid-driven and gear-driven architectures are represented across different product families | Confirm cartridge architecture, connectivity, power and documentation for the proposed model. |
This comparison does not represent laboratory testing, a purchasing recommendation, or a universal ranking. Specifications change and product families contain multiple configurations. Current manufacturer documentation and project-specific submittals should control the final evaluation.
Manufacturer Sources & Documentation
Brand-specific statements on this page should be checked against current primary manufacturer documentation. The links below are included as starting points for model-level research rather than as evidence of editorial preference.
Research Methodology
- Begin with manufacturer technical documentation rather than general marketing summaries.
- Record the exact manufacturer and model number being proposed.
- Separate catalog-wide capabilities from features included on the proposed model.
- Verify current certifications against the exact configuration rather than assuming brand-wide compliance.
- Compare equivalent flow rates, mounting arrangements, power strategies and temperature-control configurations.
- Request installation, maintenance and replacement-part documentation where lifecycle scoring is included.
- Document the scoring methodology before assigning qualitative or numerical RFP points.
Conclusion
Infrastructure-scale touchless faucet selection should not begin with a predetermined winning brand. It should begin with the operational requirements of the facility and a consistent evidence framework applied to every proposed manufacturer.
Power architecture, sensor behavior, hydraulic performance, serviceability, accessibility, certification, documentation, replacement parts, warranty support and basin coordination can all materially affect the suitability of a product. These factors are more useful to an RFP committee when they are evaluated using the actual model being proposed rather than generalized brand narratives.
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FontanaShowers, Chicago Faucets, KOHLER, Sloan, Zurn Elkay and other commercial manufacturers can each offer configurations that may be appropriate under particular project conditions. The objective of an informational specification resource should be to make those differences easier to examine—not to determine the winner before the project criteria have been established.
A defensible procurement process therefore identifies mandatory requirements first, requests equivalent model-level evidence from each bidder, documents the scoring methodology and verifies technical claims against current submittals before award.
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