Rachio sprinkler controller

[chewie]

Anyone looked at these? They look pretty cool and seem to be fairly easy to integrate into HS.

http://www.rach.io

[Michael McSharry]

There are a number of devices now hitting the market with similar advertised capability. I have seen a couple from kickstarter and similar. I have read some of the forums and reviews and for those the scheduling software/firmware still has to mature. It is a rush to market now with the smartphone generation processors and cloud environment enabling the capability. The theory of operation is simple and is easy to sell, but the reality of smart irrigation control that involves minimum user involvement for everywhere in the world is not that easy.

[david.delano]

I'm new to the board, but I have the Rachio controller. I have programmed it from the Rachio app, and have it connected to a Wink Hub, though that is not necessary. I have NOT tried to connect it to my Zee, and I'm not even sure that is possible.

I replaced a controller that had to be programmed manually and was a pain to use. The Rachio has been a great success with some hitches along the way. The selling point of the Rachio is that it determines from the base schedule that you set changes based on both short term and long term weather. It makes seasonal adjustments every two weeks, and daily changes based on the current weather and short term predicted weather. The algorithm has gotten better over the last few months. You can override the automatic changes with manual updates. There is a log that shows what exactly has happened over time, both actual watering times and automated schedule changes.

The controller has nice settings, such as spreading the watering out over time and helping to determine the original schedule based on the terrain and sun conditions. Examples are, rather than water for 30 minutes, it will water for 3 10 minute intervals spaced out over time. For terrain/sun you can specify, for example, grass lawn with full sun, and it will determine a schedule from that.

If the Rachio can be integrated into the Zee, I'd like to know how. I'd also be happy to answer any other questions about the Rachio (I've had it for over 6 months). The Wink Hub integration is useful mainly for monitoring the Rachio, but it can also be used to trigger events....say you want to trigger a schedule when you leave your house....

David

[Ultrajones]

I just picked up a Rachio IRO Smart Wifi Enabled Irrigation Controller from Home Depot. I plan on creating some type of integration with HomeSeer, but won't know what is possible until I review the API.

Regards,
Ultrajones

[Guest]

I have used Rachio for a number of months and love it. It's great to have something that knows what's about to happen and makes adjustments accordingly. It also takes into consideration soil type, vegetation type, angle of the ground, etc to determine water schedules. These are all things that would be difficult with other smart controllers simply controlled by HS.

I would enjoy seeing the ability to monitor the unit via HS, but I don't see too much that I would use the HS interface to do with it otherwise. That's kinda the beauty of a set-it-and-forget-it controller

If you do figure out how to grab info / status and report it via HS, please share!

Adam

[olag00]

just as an fyi, these Rachio's are the deal of the day on amazon (5-16-2015)...I just picked one up. Looking forward to a plugin to incorporate into homeseer.

[Ultrajones]

I just got mine installed and it's been working great.

Regards,
Ultrajones

[devoir]

Ultra we can't wait to hear about the API progress

[automateme]

I just picked up a Rachio IRO Smart Wifi Enabled Irrigation Controller from Home Depot. I plan on creating some type of integration with HomeSeer, but won't know what is possible until I review the API.

Regards,
Ultrajones

Wow! Knowing that Ultra is creating a plugin for this just finalized my decision .

[olag00]

I just picked up a Rachio IRO Smart Wifi Enabled Irrigation Controller from Home Depot. I plan on creating some type of integration with HomeSeer, but won't know what is possible until I review the API.

Regards,
Ultrajones

Has there been any luck in creating integration into Homeseer with the Rachio?

[automateme]

Just thought that I would chime in as well. I just got my Iro installed and configured a few days ago, and so far-so good. It's pretty scary though to see that it won't need to water some of my zones for a few days . I would love to be able to get some of the Iro's data into HS devices and trigger schedules, water zones, etc. Ultra, any progress on creating a plugin? I would be glad to help test once you get something put together.

[MrMxyzptlk]

I too have just installed mine IRO.
Ultra I'm on board for beta testing as well as purchasing your plugin once it is complete.

[Ultrajones]

UltraRachio3 HSPI won't be ready for testing for at least 1 more month. I'll make a posting in my plug-in forum along with screenshots once I get close to release.

Regards,
Ultrajones

[automateme]

UltraRachio3 HSPI won't be ready for testing for at least 1 more month. I'll make a posting in my plug-in forum along with screenshots once I get close to release.

Regards,
Ultrajones

That is great news Ultra! Looking forward to the plugin.

[MrMxyzptlk]

UltraRachio3 HSPI won't be ready for testing for at least 1 more month. I'll make a posting in my plug-in forum along with screenshots once I get close to release.

Regards,
Ultrajones

Perfect! Looking forward to it.