Rachio smart sprinkler controller gets Google Assistant integration

By Happy Jasta

March 31, 2017

4 min read

The popularity of IoT devices is growing profoundly, and effectively more and more companies are trying to offer home automation products that are compatible with most wireless platforms. Recently, Rachio, a smart sprinkler controller brand announced Google Assistant integration, so now on you can control your sprinkler system simply by giving voice commands to your Google Home. However, you can also use the companion mobile app to manage the sprinkler system remotely or manually through the on-board buttons.

Rachio is an easy-to-use device that lets homeowners monitor and adjust the sprinkler system from anywhere at any time. As you add plant, soil and sun exposure details in the app, it calculates watering cycles to deliver the exact amount of water without any wastage. It makes use of references from thousands of local weather stations to adjust the watering schedule as per the latest weather forecasts, so you can save a lot on water bills.

It can save you up to 50 percent off in monthly water bill as it adjusts irrigation schedules automatically for precision watering schedules. You also have the option to schedule the watering cycles according to your lifestyle and budget. In the case of Wi-Fi outage, its memory retains the last saved schedule received from the Rachio cloud and maintains the schedule until it gets an update.

Rachio is also planning to make its devices compatible with SmartThings to add advanced scheduling capabilities to its products. From now on, SmartThings owners can control their sprinkler systems directly within the SmartThings App and also through motion sensors, but late in April.

This smart sprinkler controller can manage up to sixteen zones and is compatible with nearly every home sprinkler system such as Nest, Amazon Alexa, IFTTT, Wink, Control4, Nexia and others. And with this integration, it allows users control their irrigation systems at home with simple voice commands. You can order 8 zones smart sprinkler controller for $US200 and 16 zones for $US250 at its official website.