Water usage control

Just got the Rachio system, but I have the following questions with suggestion:

Water Control:

  • Notice there is Water usage report in the dashboard where it report how many gallons has been used . May I ask how the system calculate it? As different water pressure , nozzle type could have different result.
  • Is it possible to customize it for reset it?

Suggestion:

  • During the Drought period, it is very important for the user to monitor the water usage. Although the system does provide the water usage, however if the data is not accurate it is not quite useful.
  • The water usage section would turn to be very useful if:
    a) allow the customer to reset the water usage which match the water billing cycle. (for mine is every 2 months )
    b) I Allow the customer to enter the water usage of each zone , and the overall water-usage is base on the customer data.
    For example:
    - I did check the actual water usage of each zone by checking the water meter:
    zone 1: 10 min of water use 0.20 cubic feet
    zone 2: 10 min of water use 0.30 cubic feet

    Therefore, the “water usage” section could truly represent the actual usage.
    c) Allow the customer to define the CCF usage limited:
    • It is important for the customer to define the water usage per period (months or every 2 months) during the drought period. The customer may consider the water usage in priority vs grass healthy.
    • Therefore if the customer allow to enter the CCF for watering it would be useful.
    • Per b) since the system could report the water usage accurately, if the user define the CCF limit, the system could
      i) prompt the user if the CCF for watering is X% to limit set
      II) prompt the user base on the water schedule, it will XX% below/above the CCF limit
      iii) prompt the user if the user want to change the water usage
      -or-
      The system could minor adjust the water schedule’s min by % to fit the CCF limit

I wish Rachio could consider the above suggestions.

Thanks
Samuel

2 Likes

Hey @sunboy97, this is how we calculate water used:

http://support.rachio.com/article/383-how-we-calculate-water-usage

Thanks very much for the suggestions. We greatly appreciate it! Allowing folks to have more input into how Rachio tracks water usage is important to us, but not on the immediate roadmap. However, it’s great to hear from folks like yourself on this.

Have a wonderful week.

2 Likes

Hi @benblackmer what about the ability to reset the counter in water used, or does that involve removing all watering history? I just installed my rachio, and since I have all drip zones, it requires a bit of tweaking. When I first installed the controller, I ran many tests and did not specify a custom PR rate and square footage. Rachio says I used 776 gallons during this period which I don’t believe I did. I’ve since inputted more accurate values with the help of azdavidr’s PR & area calculator here: Drip Emitter Calculator for Precipitation Rate & Area

I also feel resetting water usage to match watering billing cycles would be very useful

Thank you for listening!

1 Like

@DroughtSaver

Support can reset your water usage from today if you ask them. It will reset all watering history.

:cheers: