Add a wire terminal to the Rachio to connect to a fire alarm panel, or an automation system, to signal emergency start up of zone watering. Have some kind of zone watering pattern pre-programmed for this - like rotate through watering every zone for 3 minutes at a time.
This would expand the Iro’s emergency-start-on-fire capability beyond what you already have for the Nest, to include a lot of fire panels and almost all automation systems (without you having to research each and every one for compatibility concerns).
I’m specifically suggesting a wired terminal, not a wireless capability. Not only do I think this is lower cost to implement in the Rachio, it also provides reliability for signaling a fire related event.
Just a suggestion (that I would use: my fire panel signals automation system of fire mode; I’d run a cable from automation system to Iro; relay contact closure in automation system signals to Iro to shift to ‘emergency mode;’ (you’d have to decide if the product feature should respect 32 degrees or colder or ignore it and water anyway ).
An example is HVAC units. Most have a terminal these days for connection to a fire panel or automation system, that upon dry contact closure, shuts down everything associated with the unit (don’t spread smoke throughout hose. My suggestion is just like this, except it’s for the sprinkler controller now too.
In fact, that’s what I would do. Need a terminal on the Rachio though (like on HVAC units), that signals the Rachio to go to emergency watering mode (however it’s defined).
this works out of the box with nest. im not a fan of nest so im currently have to slog my way through a zway driver, but my java script foo is weak so it is taking much much longer than i would like.
Yeah, as I increasingly understand Rachio’s design strategy (Rachio is a s/w company, with most logic done in the cloud, with the Iro focused to be simply an ‘order taker’ from the cloud to turn on/off solenoids) it looks like hardware enhancements to the Iro will be few and far between. Thus, an added terminal in the Iro’s base, to invoke an action appropriate to fire emergency, might (probably) needs a lot of public support before it will happen.
I think a software solution, on the part of of some kind is very unlikely.
well, dont rule out additional hardware from rachio. i mean i know of nothing they are working on because im only a customer, but their approach allows the “cloud” (sorry i hate that word so much) to aggregate the various components so having small shitty device that performs a http post is all that is need to integrate your alarm system and rachio (along with some ui and software to instructs rachio to fire alarm activities).
its a nice approach, i just wish i would manually kick off a zone when my internet is down, this has only happened 2 times now, but man, i cursed rachio all the way up to the street and back (where my valve box is), and it was a long walk, so many curses were laid upon those unsuspecting people.
