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Rachio Iro proves that smart home devices saves resources, money
Back in June I wrote about the Rachio Iro Smart Sprinkler Controller, a US$249/$299 (depending on number of zones) intelligent sprinkler controller with an accompanying app that allows amazing control over your yard irrigation. Iro adjusts to weather conditions and seasonal changes to make sure that your lawn, garden and shrubs are watered just perfectly. Denver-based Rachio released figures today showing that its product saved 10,631,109 gallons of water this summer, not only preserving a scarce resource, but saving homeowners a lot of money in the process. Rachio reports that Iro devices delayed watering 12,534 times this summer when rains provided needed moisture, and that the devices have already made 10,111 seasonal adjustments to account for the cooler late summer/early fall weather. Over 5,244 personalized watering schedules were created by the devices as well. In other news, you'll now be able to purchase the sleek white boxes from your local Apple Store or the online Apple Store. I can't vouch for all of the other Rachio Iro users, but I've been extremely happy with the device. The company uses a Smart-Cycle algorithm to turn sprinklers on and off during a cycle, making sure that water has a chance to soak in and not run off the lawn. That proved very important in my case, where we have hard clay soils that often prove very difficult to water. My lawn used to get watered every morning for a shorter time; this summer it was watered every other day for a bit longer. The best results for me, however, were that not only did my lawn look the best it has in probably 20 years with absolutely no dry spots, but my water consumption was down as well. Between May and August of 2013, we consumed 59000 gallons of water (predominantly for irrigation) at a cost of $162.25. For the same period in 2014, consumption was down to 44000 gallons and cost us $129.80. That's a drop of about 26.4 percent in consumption. As more and more homeowners begin to embrace smart devices and companies like Apple build supporting frameworks like HomeKit into their smartphones, we can expect to see even more stories of natural resources being conserved thanks to brilliant engineering, intelligent software, and iPhones.
Rachio's Iro: iOS-controlled lawn sprinkler controller
Over the past few years we've seen device-controlled lighting systems, thermostats, switches and other home-automation devices take hold in the market to save energy, but nobody seemed to be looking at the other big home consumable -- water. Especially in the arid Western United States, one of the largest uses of water is for lawn irrigation, and keeping those lawns green can be both expensive and a huge waste of water. Fortunately for consumers, Rachio's new Iro smart sprinkler controller (US$249) is now available in Home Depot stores across the US and promises to help consumers keep tabs on their water usage. I had an opportunity to talk to the founder of Denver-based Rachio, Chris Klein, about Iro and how the smartphone-controlled device came to be. The idea took root at the Denver Startup Weekend in November of 2012 with a pitch on using technology to save water. An idea to created "boxed gardens" to save water just wasn't scalable, so the idea of a smart sprinkler controller was floated. With a Belkin WeMo switch and some ingenuity, they quickly discovered that the concept was possible. Rather than just package parts from other manufacturers, Klein and his partners decided that it was time to create their own brand and product. By February of 2013, Rachio was in business and by December of 2013, the company had perfected the software and hardware for the smart controller. Klein notes with pride that the entire device is built in the Centennial State, and that through a network of local manufacturers and services they've been able to accomplish tasks in a remarkably short period of time. So, what makes Iro so smart? Existing sprinkler timers have no intelligence -- they simply turn sprinklers on and off at times of your choosing. Replace the old timer with an Iro, and you can tell it things about each zone -- the type of soil (clay, sand, etc...), how much shade the area receives, and of course the location of the yard -- and about your watering parameters. Those parameters can include acceptable watering hours and days by local ordinance. Unlike most sprinkler timers, there are no knobs or dials on the Iro. Klein mentions that most timers are located in odd, out-of-the-way places like basements or garages where they're out of sight anyway, so all of the controls are located in the free app. Since the Iro needs to be connected to your Wi-Fi network, Rachio picked Electric Imp's connectivity solution to provide good range. The company suggests that potential Iro owners bring an iPhone or iPad to the location where the controller will be located just to see how strong the signal is. A weak signal may necessitate the installation of a Wi-Fi range extender to reach the Iro. The app provides a way to set up the controller for automatic watering or even manually kick off watering from anywhere you're connected to the Internet. I personally look forward to the day when the app can use hyper-localized weather data to determine just how much water each sprinkler zone requires -- and not a drop more. The company has already updated the app several times in the first few weeks of availability to respond directly to consumer input, so that pipe dream of mine might not be that far away. At the present time, you can easily let the app know that the lawn has received extra water from rain, or that a hot spell has stressed the lawn, and it will adjust each zone's watering times appropriately. TUAW will feature a full review of the Rachio Iro in the near future.
Netduino and WP7 used to remotely control sprinkler system, show off Microsoft's DIY credentials
Arduino, Android and the iPhone usually get all the DIY love, but Mike Linnen, he has taken the road less traveled by -- turning to Windows Phone 7, Azure and a Netduino Plus to get his home hacking on. The .NET-powered microcontroller is the heart of Linnen's new sprinkler system which can be scheduled to turn on and off automatically or manually triggered remotely from his WP7 handset. The system also monitors weather forecasts and, if the chance of rain is above 39-percent, any sprinkler activity for the day is canceled to avoid over watering the grass and plants. It's all pretty neat, and there's some DOS command line action thrown in for good measure. Check out the lengthy demo video after the break, and hit up the source for more detail and the necessary code to set up your own.
Plano, TX gripes to FCC after police radio signals disrupt sprinklers
We've seen the boys and girls in blue disturb the peace on occasion, but this is just downright bizarre. It's bruited that the city of Plano, Texas has complained to the FCC about a powerful new police communications system that's being testing in Cedar Hill, DeSoto and Duncanville. The signals have the ability to reach some 30 miles away, and they're driving the radio-controlled sprinklers that Plano uses at parks and road medians absolutely crazy. The whole ordeal has made for some pretty interesting conversation amongst those involved, with one Tim Smith, managing director of the Southwest Regional Communications Center, asserting: "Which comes first: watering plants or protecting police and fire?" If anyone catches grown men fighting about this, do us a favor and send in the video.[Thanks, Travis]
Cyber-Rain XCI gives you wireless control of your sprinkler system
Frustrated with that exorbitantly high water bill stemming from all the H20 wastefully spewed out from that non-intelligent sprinkler system? Enter the Cyber-Rain XCI, which gives owners wireless control of up to eight watering zones. After hooking up the controller(s) and plugging a wireless access point into your PC via USB, users can look forward to the solution automatically tweaking their irrigation system based on weather conditions, seasons, etc. It'll even log water savings and chuck out a graph to prove its value. C'mon, you know it's worth $349 to make your thumb look way greener than it actually is (and save some water, too).[Via Unplggd]
