LinkTap maintains its pace of innovation and, following the launch of Smart Anti-Freeze Protection in March, is now expanding its software with the additional feature “Advanced Flow Monitoring.”
This feature complements the existing water flow monitoring options. These allow you to be notified if valves are not opening or closing properly, or to close the valve if the water flow is too high.
Advanced Flow Monitoring now covers additional scenarios that arise when the water timer is used in conjunction with an external device such as a flow switch, a water level switch, or a float valve. In this mode, the water timer’s valve is open for an extended period of time, but water only flows through when the external device sends the corresponding signal. A second external valve is therefore located upstream of the water timer’s outlet, which only allows water to flow temporarily. Such a solution can be useful for the following applications, for example:
- Refilling water in a pool or pond
- Sprinklers activated by motion sensors
- Automatic animal waterers that refill as needed
- Monitoring water consumption in the home (left-on taps, burst pipes)
The irrigation schedule of the irrigation computer is divided into times when water is flowing and times when no water is flowing:
For applications that are divided into multiple water flow phases, the Advanced Flow Monitoring feature can be used to monitor whether the water flow is atypical. Two metrics can be used for this:
- The water flow during a water flow phase
- The water flow during all water flow phases of an irrigation schedule combined
A maximum water flow duration or a maximum water volume can be monitored. For example, you can set a notification to be sent when a water flow phase (green bar) exceeds a certain maximum duration, or when more than a certain maximum water volume is used during a water flow phase. Alternatively, or in addition to the notification, you can also program the end of the irrigation cycle (closing the irrigation computer’s valve).
Alternatively, you can monitor the water flow during all water flow phases of an irrigation cycle. You can also define a maximum water flow duration and a maximum water flow rate, as well as a minimum water consumption rate.
A notification can be requested via push notification to your mobile phone or as an email notification.
No other irrigation computer I know of currently offers this feature! It is currently available with the T1, Q1, and ValveLinker computer models. I describe the function in more detail in the detailed description of the LinkTap app.
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