One of the main conditions for taking care of the planting of a personal plot is timely abundant soil moisture. This is especially true if the summer would be hot, with minimal rainfall. However, manually watering the site takes a lot of effort and time, and the larger the territory, the higher these costs. The ideal solution is the installation of an automated irrigation system on the plot with the function of remote control from the owner’s mobile device. There are several types of smart irrigation systems on the modern market for smart devices, including Elgato’s Eve Aqua. Let’s look at the device, its features, and the nuances of its operation in more detail.
 | Eve Aqua - Slimme besproeiingscomputer - Werkt met Apple Homekit |
Installing and connecting a smart irrigation system with Eve Aqua?
The Eve Aqua automatic irrigation system is made by Elgato Systems from Germany. The former video recording company has been entering the smart electronics market since 2014 with a line of smart products under the Elgato Eve brand. Today, the range of smart devices from Elgato includes several dozen items – these are smart sockets, switches, weather stations, lamps, all kinds of sensors. One of the devices made by this company and designed to make the life of the owner of a private house more comfortable is the automatic irrigation system Eve Aqua. It first went on sale in 2016 and has already received a lot of positive feedback from users due to its simple design and operation, as well as reliable operation. The universal device can be used for watering both home lawns and lawns, as well as for watering beds and greenhouses, garden trees and shrubs. This device is a nozzle on a water tap that allows you to remotely control the water supply to the irrigation system. Visually, Eve Aqua looks like a rectangular box made of impact-resistant plastic. On both sides, it has two outputs in the form of nozzle fittings with a threaded connection. One fitting is designed to connect to a water tap and the other to a garden hose or irrigation pipe with sprinklers. On the outside of the device is a button to manually turn the watering on/off. That is, this device is not a full-fledged irrigation system, as the Elgato set does not include such important components as pipes, sprinklers, and spray heads. The device rather plays the role of a “brain”, an intelligent component that makes the watering system “smart”. Therefore, many experts call Eve Aqua a control valve, which is technically more correct. At the same time, the tap of the tap must always be open – its function is performed by the locking device of the device. The kit comes with instructions that describe in detail how to prepare Eve Aqua for work. The technical characteristics of the device are as follows:
- Dimensions – 123 mm x 95 mm x 78 mm.
- Weight – 355 grams.
- The power source is an AA battery.
- The type of connection with paired devices is via wifi and Bluetooth version 4.0 and higher.
- The cost starts from 99 €.
- Among the range of functions available for a smart irrigation system, it should be noted:
Taking into account the water consumption for irrigation of the territory.
- Possibility to create irrigation scenarios.
- Control via the central hub in automatic mode or via the mobile HomeKit framework.
You can activate the device using the HomeKit framework installed on your smartphone. To do this, you need a mobile gadget running on Apple’s iOS 9.1 platform. You can integrate Eve Aqua into any HomeKit-powered smart home system. For example, use the HomePod smart speaker with Siri voice support from the same American IT giant as the central control gateway. The connection with the hub is automatically established when the device is turned on, via a Bluetooth connection. Eve Aqua is displayed in the application, after which it just needs to be added to the list of devices.
How to operate your Eve Aqua irrigation system
You can manage your device in several ways:
- In manual mode, if necessary, turn on and off using the button located directly on the housing of the device.
- Via a remote connection, using the HomeKit platform.
- Using the Siri assistant, using voice commands to the central control hub or via a mobile device.
Let’s take a closer look at each of these options. The manual control button on the housing of the device plays the role of a backup control. With its help, you can start watering or stop it. It is convenient to use it if you are busy gardening, near the water supply. It is quite normal that few people take their iPad with them when they go to weed beds or loosen the soil. Therefore, it is not very convenient to run into the house for a mobile device every time to turn the water tap on or off. Thanks to the HomeKit framework, you can create various scenarios for managing the irrigation system for your backyard area. To do this, it is convenient to use the specially made Elgato Eve application on a smartphone by the manufacturer. However, you can get by with the capabilities of the central hub with the installed virtual assistant Siri. As conditions for starting and stopping watering, you can set a certain time of day, days of the week. It is possible to block the device for children, to prevent the parents from indulging in water. It is also possible, via the hub or the Elgato Eve application, to integrate the Eve Aqua irrigation system with the Weather outdoor climate station from the same company. In this situation, irrigation management is fully controlled by the climate device. Eve Weather can track changes in outdoor temperature and humidity. When these indicators reach a certain figure that is preset in the scenario, the sensor sends a signal to the control device (hub, mobile gadget) and turns on the irrigation system. You can also control the smart irrigation system yourself via the Siri voice application. You can give commands to any device on which it is installed and paired with Eve Aqua. In addition, it is possible to transmit various relevant data via the wifi communication channel:
- Directly from a smart irrigation system – about the amount of water used, irrigation time.
- Based on information from additional devices, such as a soil moisture sensor, the user can determine whether it is time to stop watering or not.
Water resistance and durability of the device
The device has quite convenient and durable connectors. The upper part, with a threaded connection, is closely connected to the water tap. The lower one has a standard quick coupling for a garden hose connection or T-adapter. The connection is quite strong and due to the presence of soft rubber seals, the connections are waterproof. The device itself is made of durable plastic, which is very resistant to direct ultraviolet rays. The assembly level is, as with most devices made in Germany, at the top.
Conclusions
From the foregoing, we can conclude that the smart device Eve Aqua is a good alternative to expensive full-fledged irrigation systems that include all the necessary accessories – pipes, sprinklers, and all kinds of sensors. The reasonably priced Elgato nozzle controller can successfully replace them, acting as a smart valve, functional and user-friendly.
