Why You Can Trust CNET Rachio Smart Sprinkler Controller (generation 2) review: Rachio's awesome app makes scheduling your sprinklers easy
The Rachio Smart Sprinkler Controller watches the weather, learns your yard, and makes it easy to give your lawn the perfect amount of water.
Lots of smart home devices promise to revolutionize the ordinary with convenience you didn't know you needed. The Rachio Smart Sprinkler Controller actually fulfills that promise. Buy it, and you'll no longer have to mess with the confusing dials and buttons of an ordinary sprinkler controller. Turn on your sprinklers with an app, or a voice command to the Amazon Echo or the Google Home. Better yet, let Rachio plan when to turn on your sprinklers for you based on the weather, and save money on water in the meantime.
Rachio Smart Sprinkler Controller (generation 2)
The Good
The Bad
The Bottom Line
It's not without its flaws -- the voice controls are wonky, you can't do much with the onboard controls if your internet is out, and you can't run multiple zones at once -- but generally, the $200 to $250 Rachio 2nd Generation Smart Sprinkler Controller succeeds at what it sets out to do. If you have an in-ground sprinkler system, the Rachio Controller is a great buy for the convenience it will add to your watering routine.
Extending the smart home outside
If you're ready to upgrade, know that the Rachio Controller isn't the only game in town. Fortunately, Rachio stacks up well next to the smart competition too.
Almost all smart sprinklers replace an existing controller for your in ground sprinkler system. Then, they connect to your home's Wi-Fi network, offer app controls, and help you save water by monitoring the weather and helping you adapt your schedule to accommodate for rain. Better yet, most smart controllers qualify for the EPA's WaterSense program, allowing you to get rebates on your utility bill.
Rachio does all of that, and separates itself with its extra smart home integrations. It works with both the Amazon Echo and the Google Home (both are always-listening speakers that respond to voice commands). It also works with the Nest Learning Thermostat, the online rule making platform IFTTT, and the Wink and SmartThings smart home ecosystems. Head here for a full list of Rachio's integrations.
Other smart sprinklers work with the Amazon Echo too, and the $250 GreenIQ has an impressive list of integrations of its own, but Rachio's list is the best of the bunch.
You can purchase the second-generation Rachio Smart Sprinkler Controller now from the company's website. It's also available from Amazon, Home Depot, Best Buy and Lowes. An 8-zone controller costs $200 or you can buy a 16-zone unit for $250. If you'll be replacing an outdoor controller, you'll also need Rachio's $30 weatherproof casing. The Rachio Controller will work in any country, but Rachio has distribution only in North America for now. The US price converts to roughly £150 and AU$250 for the 8-zone version and £190/AU$315 for 16 zones.
Setting up zones
I tested Rachio at the CNET Smart Home over the course of two weeks. The physical setup is roughly on the same do-it-yourself skill level as replacing your thermostat. Then, the app does the rest.
Setting up Rachio is pretty simple, but it can handle more advanced systems with master valves and pump start relays.
After you use the app to connect Rachio to Wi-Fi, you can hop right in and start using the controller, or you can let Rachio walk you through setting up the different zones.
Rachio's app shines both when you're setting up the zones, and when you're scheduling them. With both processes, the app puts simple, easy-to-understand options at the forefront of its interface, with plenty of room for advanced customization hidden just underneath the surface. It balances ease-of-use with depth perfectly.
Zone setup asks you to name each zone, then asks you what's growing there, what type of soil it's in, how much sun it gets, what type of sprinkler head you have in the zone, and the slope of the zone.
Set up your zones with as many details as you know. You can even access advanced info if you're an expert. Rachio can help you determine when to water based on these details.
Again, you can skip the zone-by-zone setup and jump straight to scheduling if you'd like, but the extra details help Rachio plan for you. You can fine-tune beyond the basics if you'd like. Click on a zone in the app and you can tinker with details like root depth and crop coefficient if you're an expert. The details section also shows you the moisture level, and you can see it charted over time and tweak it as well.
A schedule tailored for you
Once you have the zones set the way you want them, you can schedule your sprinklers from the main page of the app according to your local restrictions, as well as your needs and preferences.
Rachio offers four scheduling options:
- Fixed interval: Pick how often you want your lawn watered. You can also set your system to water on even or odd days. Rachio will skip days when appropriate based on the weather.
- Fixed days: Pick the days of the week you'd like to water. Again, Rachio will help out by skipping days when appropriate.
- Flexible monthly: Rachio determines a predictable schedule for you based on your zone input, the weather and the season.
- Flexible daily: Rachio ditches all predictability and adapts dynamically to the weather and your yard's conditions. It waters when necessary based on the moisture levels of your zones.
Basically, you can have as much input in designing your sprinkler schedule as you'd like, and Rachio will help out with its own smarts as much as it can. For comparison, the Orbit B-Hyve sprinkler lets you design your own schedule, or it'll do it for you. If you schedule yourself, you need to tell Orbit when to set a rain delay. Rachio's ready to offer automatic assistance on any schedule you set.
I set up a "Flexible Daily" schedule for the CNET Smart Home. I wanted to see how Rachio would do with full control over when to run the sprinklers. Even with this option, you can still specify water restriction days and your preferred start time.
Pick your schedule, then pull up your calendar to see when Rachio will water.
Rachio starts off Flexible Daily by running a long cycle on each zone -- enough to get each zone from 0 percent to 100 percent moisture. Your lawn probably isn't at 0 when Rachio starts, but this way the system knows your lawn is all the way at one end of the spectrum and can start predicting accordingly.
After that first long run, Rachio spread out its watering over the course of the next week -- usually running one zone a day and breaking up watering times even for that single zone to let the water sink in. The system also recognized when it was raining and pushed back the scheduled days accordingly.
You can change where Rachio gets it weather info in the app, but weirdly, the Flexible Daily schedule never shows that you "saved" any water. The bottom of the main page shows water used and water saved per month, but with Flexible Daily, the second number remained zero.
It's an odd quirk, since Rachio should be saving you the most with this option, but it's also not cancelling sessions based on rain and thus saving water. It's just not scheduling sessions for rainy days in the first place.
Nitpicks galore
Rachio's design and app have a few other minor flaws. I generally like the elegant simplicity of the controller itself -- it looks futuristic without being over-the-top -- but the onboard controls are pretty minimal so you won't be able to do much at all if your internet goes out.
The physical controls on the Rachio controller allow you to turn each zone on or off, and that's it.
You can't run multiple zones at once. Even if you use the remote control in the app to start all zones watering for five minutes, Rachio will cycle through five minutes of each zone one at a time.
The watering and schedule updates are confusing, with two or three redundant entries for each time you turn on your sprinkler. The push notifications are better, and customizable.
Most of my issues with Rachio are minor and you won't often notice them, especially once you have your schedule running. Rachio's integrations with the Amazon Echo and Google Home are more problematic.
Controlling your sprinklers with your voice definitely has a cool factor, but Rachio's skills for both the Echo and the Home need polish. They work fine when you know the exact phrase you need to say, but improvise and Amazon's assistant can get caught in a loop and the Google Home will get confused.
The verdict
The second-generation Rachio Smart Sprinkler Controller isn't perfect, and it's a little expensive at $200 for an 8-zone model and $250 for 16. The Blossom 8 gives you 8 zones of connected control for $150; the Orbit B-Hyve offers 12 zones of control for only $120. If you're weighing Rachio against other smart sprinklers, Rachio's app is mostly excellent. It keeps setup simple enough for beginners while offering depth for experts that want it. Plus, Rachio works with more smart home partners than the sprinkler competition.
If you're considering whether you need an upgrade at all, rest assured that Rachio's smarts aren't just for show. After a brief setup, Rachio can take care of most of your scheduling for you, and you can quickly make adjustments with the responsive app. All told, using Rachio will be exponentially easier than fiddling with the dials and buttons of an old-fashioned controller. So as a smart device that truly feels smart, I'm happy to recommend Rachio to anyone with an inground sprinkler system and a solid Wi-Fi network.