Lets suppose we are setting up a controller for an end user who has no knowledge, nor desire to gain the knowledge, of how many minutes to water their lawn. Lets suppose they purchased the Rachio based upon the suggestion that the rachio will calculate correct water amounts so they can focus on the million other things in their lives.
Now,
Lets suppose, for simplicity sake, after setting up their 1 zone system on a two day per week fixed schedule, the controller calculates 60 minutes of run time per watering (or 120 minutes per week).
Now lets suppose the uninformed but well intentioned end user decides one week to try out the “adjust watering” feature, and uses “reduce by %”, and reduces their watering 50% and hits “SAVE”.
Now they can go to calender and see that their one zone will run for 30 minutes next time.
Now lets suppose they want to change it back the next week to its orginal setting, so they open the “adjust watering” link and go to percentage, and lo-and behold, they cant find any higher option than to increase by 60%.
Unaware of how else to change it, they select increase by 60%, and now they go to calender and it says it will water for 48 Minutes.
Now lets pause here.
In this forum, its easy for us to remember 60 minutes, but for someone who isnt a rachio fanatic, that has 15 zones ranging from 12 minutes on VAN nozzles to 1 hour and 45 minutes on a 0.3” per/hour rotor zone, they will have no idea what the original zone run times were, or how to get them back to the correct times for that matter.
Now of course, they could simply delete the schedule and create a new one, and that would calculate the correct watering times, but the fact is, 90% of people who have a rachio installed will never change/create a schedule, they will simply use the one that was set up for them, and many are afraid to change it. And when they do, that’s where things go funky and tend to stay that way until a pro helps.
“So get to your proposal Rhett!”
Okay here it is:
How about a “revert to original settings” button. that shows up after a change is made via “adjusting watering”
Or at the very least allow 100% increase so that one can “decrease 50% and then Increase 100% to land back at the original times.
I think “Revert to original settings” button would be better though.
Cheers!