Squard D makes a schedule based and remote controlled based panel intended for commercial and industrial lighting. Powerlink is the name. Lutron makes a system that uses Eaton smart breakers also. Leviton also makes a very pretty smart power panel, but I dont like Leviton products. All of these are probably a $3-5k change out for parts and labor.
I would be concerned about isolating the ethernet port from a lightning strike. The controller is one of the higher risk items in the house to take a hit, and I wouldnāt want to add my router, and possibly every device wired to it to that chain.
I actually considered adding a surge arrestor to my sprinkler wires, like my invisible dog fence has, but I didnāt know where to get 10 circuit ones.
Thereās not āno demandā. Iād buy one if it had wired support. My Gen2 16 has had wifi issues, not often, but Iād love to take wifi out of the equation entirely.
So donāt be dismissive of someone making requests, if because you donāt need it or understand why.
Unrelated to this application, Iāve installed these in places where rebooting the router was necessary when the cable modem or device got hung up.
The one Iāve used is the 522b. It can monitor two devices, in layers and power cycle them accordingly. As in, the device isnāt responding to pingsā¦ power cycle it. And āthe internet isnāt responding to pings, power cycle the routerā. Works like a charm. And when the link returns it sends me an e-mail letting me know itās had to reboot things.
At $99 itās been cheap insurance against remote site networking woes. Where itās been MOST useful has been at the mother-in-lawās place. I see an e-mail from it, and I can mention to my wife that the router had to resetā¦ and she can decide if that factors into a conversation with grandma. As opposed to yet another panicked call from the battle axā¦
Please donāt quote me out of context. I said āessentially no demandā; perhaps it should have been āminimal demandā or ālittle demandā. Some of that demand arises because Rachio has IMO implemented Wi-Fi related firmware poorly and their controllers have a reputation for frequently losing connection. This should be fixed. That said, AFAIK my own 16-zone Gen 2 has never lost its connection to the network.
Most of the remaining demand is for locations where Ethernet is available (or can easily be made available), but there is no Wi-Fi, the signal strength is inadequate, or the firewall has incompatible restrictions. This is easily solved by adding e.g. a $15 N150 access point.
A controller with Ethernet would obviously cost more to manufacture, in addition to substantial engineering costs for design and ongoing firmware maintenance. Iām a retired engineer who used to design embedded systems for a living. IMHO, the slight gain in market share would not come close to covering the additional costs.
Another issue is that an irrigation controller is connected to outdoor valves, often with hundreds of feet of cable buried only a few inches below ground. A nearby lightning strike can induce many kilovolts in that cable, which could result in the destruction of network gear costing thousands, as well as increasing the chance of setting the house afire.
Iām puzzled at a) your vehemence on repeating the same point, and b) your lack of status as a vendor representative.
There are absolutely many ways to mitigate lightning strikes. And since the device is powered via AC thereās already that risk. Which would have to be mitigatedā¦as would any wired network connection.
Having configured dozens of inter-building networks Iām well aware of the factors involved, the statistical likelihoods of the problem and the extremely low numbers of situations where itās actually be a problem. But hey, you go with your retired engineer shtick.
Clearly you have a point of view and you feel that repeating it is somehow going to make it more valid than the concerns and request of other customers.
Perhaps what you should do is take a break from belittling what others are asking.
Iām not belittling anyone. Iām merely posting my opinion that providing Ethernet does not make economic sense for Rachio and users shouldnāt expect future models to have it, unless possibly if Rachio develops a unit tailored to the industrial / large commercial market.
I donāt claim to have expertise about lightning. There have been a few credible posts in this forum about controller failures caused by an electrical storm. Also, Iām not the first in this thread to mention lightning as a hazard to Ethernet, even though the actual risk is very small.
Iām a big fan of wired networking where there are specific benefits. As I write this, nmap shows 48 hosts on my LAN, with the majority wired:
-
Security cameras are wired because they require considerable bandwidth. I ran the PoE cables myself, rather than pay a licensed electrician to install AC outlets.
-
Desk and wall phones are wired because the PoE switch is fed from a UPS, so we can call 911 during a power failure.
-
Access points are wired; ceiling installation has better aesthetics. Performance and reliability are better than a mesh network.
-
TVs are wired; our Wi-Fi network canāt reliably support two 4k streams.
-
Computers are wired to achieve Gigabit transfers from other LAN devices.
And your Rachio would be wired because? If you donāt have Wi-Fi there, a $15 AP will solve the problem. If the Wi-Fi is unreliable, Rachio should fix it. Many of my IoT devices cost less than $25 and stay connected just fine. If some other reason, please explain.
Why the reluctance for a wired unit?
And you are missing the obvious: spending another $15 (possibly more) for yet another wifi unit, and then spend time to find the optimal location for the Rachio to have a good signal with.
There is NO practical simplification of Wireless device by adding another wireless node. Added all up in many cases a wired box is cheaper than a wireless one.
With nearly all control boxes located outside the living area, almost all will have to adjust or add to WiFi to get the wireless to work.
(Granted there are cases of good signal and solid connection, but it is not every instance).
It will cost about $6 in parts to add a Ethernet port with surge isolation. I would pay more for a unit with ethernet.
I wanted to hop on this thread as well - would VERY much like an Ethernet port.
WiFi is needlessly complicated and more prone to failure. Flashing up with the unit is tedious and error prone. the Rachio 2 is finicky about SSIDās so I had to rename my network to please it, or it wouldnāt connect. It would be so easy for me to just run an ethernet cable to the basement closet where the Rachio lives.
I canāt imagine this would cost much for them to add as a feature. Otherwise very pleased with the unit.
After having spent Three Plus hours trying to get the wifi running, I absolutely agree with this suggestion.
This is not a simple IOT device like a light bulb or a switch. It is a full fledged computer.
Adding ethernet NIC does not add much to the Bill of Materials since it already has a full network stack for the Wifi. It will save a lot of hassle, at least in the initial setup. Probably save more in the support costs, and return of controllers which do not work than the cost added.
I have run an ethernet cable to my garage, added a new Wifi Access Point to the garage and then struggling to get past the yellow flashing light. Have tried connecting directly to the Raico-xxxxx wifi network but no luck from my mac air or iphone.
While Wifi is a necessity, it helps to have a fall back available. Even if it is just to clean up the messed network config files.
I live in a 6000 sq ft house on a 12000 sq ft lot. I would like to think this is above average for a US house. My wifi signal (asus router in the middle of house) reaches everywhere on the property. Rachio which is in the garage has not disconnected once in the last 3 years. I have 50 devices - 10 or so wired near the router and the rest on WiFi.
I can see 15 other wifi signals on my property so I am afraid there is no escaping it if wifi signal is bad for health. I am more afraid of millions of people from other countries hacking WAN to get into my wired devices than someone in my driveway hacking rachio which is on a different guest network.
There is a reason why ethernet ports were removed from macbook pro, macbook air since years ago. I understand power users/network guys swear by hardwired lines but unfortunately they are in minority as far as the user base goes for these devices.
Ethernet removed from a portable device is a classic example of someone desperate to find an excuse not to have a wired ethernet.
A sprinkler controller cannot go anywhere.
Not only is it physically and permanently wired to not just power but the valves, but it also
literally BOLTED TO THE WALL!
Perhaps TVās should they have all the HDMI and audio connects be removed, Wi-Fi only, and use the iPhone MagSafe power adapter, make it easy to take it off the wall and put it on your coffee table.
1 Like
Hypothetically speaking if someone showed you a poll of rachio users where 99% said they donāt care about wired port 1. you would not believe it and 2. insist that rachio build for the 1%?
If they build it, Iād buy it, even with an added cost.
As for āinsist they build itā, give that nonsense a rest. You donāt speak for anyone other than yourself, stop trying to bully the argument against having a wired OPTION.