The APIXU is not integrated as a trigger in RM. And you cannot add custom conditions or triggers to RM, only custom actions. That is why I said it would be very difficult to replicate the Rachio architecture.
That is true but you can the use WATO app (see above) to access those attributes and set a virtual switch or something which is what makes that app cool...
And if you can figure out how to do that, be my quest. LOL. How are you going to account for all of the different possibilities in a forecast? Rachio is a system designed to do this. You aren't going to be able to replicate that with Wato and RM. If you could, everyone would and Rachio wouldn't be in business.
Don't get me wrong - I believe that you should use smart devices the way they are intended instead of trying to recreate the functionality in HE. I do this with my Nest thermostats.
I do not own the Rachio and am interested in playing around with these easy/inexpensive moisture sensors for my small garden. I've successfully used a solenoid valve + smartplug to control my simple watering system.
Well, yeah....if you don't need a Rachio, then they're no need for them. Plus, I'm sure if your garden is a little over watered, it's no big deal. But if you're watering an entire lawn and you're paying a premium for water....well, that's Rachio's key demographic.
- My watering last year was timed, had it kick off an hour before dawn. Have large containers with tomatoes etc. Worked out really well rain or shine. This year I may see if I can't optimize the water usage a bit with the sensors. I do have a hookup for a proper lawn irrigation system - I prefer the Rain Machine but other expenses have gotten in the way first. In NJ there is almost the opposite issue to a drought.
Overwatering is not a good thing for vegetable gardens either. With ST & WebCoRE I was able to incorporate a rudimentary control based on time and forecast. Did not have rain or moisture sensors though which would have been nice.
Run my question about the need to take into account, potentially, different micro-climates in every garden - should we water a specific zone if it gets too much sun and dries up more often than the others? Here is what I got from Rachio support :
you are correct in assuming that we do not have soil moisture sensors water when they get dry, rather we have them not water when they are wet. Our flex daily schedule archetype does track moisture levels and precipitation to monitor and decide if a zone is dry enough that it could be irrigated responsibly.
for a simple switch sensor without anything major, the rachio should be able to handle a DIY sensor. Most sensors just either break or complete a circuit depending on certain moisture parameters, and we are only compatible with normally closed sensors.
The comment about how sensors interact with rachio directly is the reason why I think triggering the zone to water via hubitat is a better option. The incoming signal from the sensor is a simple reading of soil moisture levels. I think its far easier to use a hubitat rule to trigger the zone watering in this case. thoughts?
So for overall landscape irrigation I would say leave the smart stuff to Rachio.
For specific use cases - like small garden areas, depending upon plant type etc I think HE could be a very flexible way of controlling the watering. The only thing is you might end up bypassing the irrigation system.
