Jacuzzi is putting a different toe in the whirlpool as evidenced by the company’s introduction last week of electronic control at the Kitchen/Bath Industry Show in Chicago. The company has upgraded its standard push-button spa controls with an electronic version that opens the door to future technologies and control possibilities.

“We have iPods and PCs all over the house,” said Mike Dominguez, product design engineer for Jacuzzi. “Why does technology have to stop at the bathroom?”

Wired into the tub’s main unit, the icon-based LED controller gives users control over “illumatherapy” functions, Jacuzzi’s term for LED lighting in the tub that users can choose to set various moods and customize the spa experience. The controller also manages power, jet speed, air bath levels, temperature and diagnostics. The controller is firmware-upgradeable which will enable future feature upgrades, according to Dominguez. One future upgrade will include control over ambient lights outside of the tub in addition to whirlpool lights, he said.

The 3.5-inch controller comes with preset modes labeled relaxing, therapeutic, romantic, invigorating and wakeup. Users can also create their own custom settings incorporating the various lighting and spa levels and then store them in memory for later recall. A Quick Start feature enables users to power up the whirlpool at a touch of a button so that the tub can begin filling while the user fine tunes other settings.

Suggested retail price of the Jacuzzi Fusion with LED controller is $7,400.

Future capabilities could include Bluetooth compatibility and music control, according to Dominguez. “Think of luxury car amenities,” he said. “We can bring all of those to the tub as well.”