Automatic Water Shut-off Valve

xeon · August 12, 2019, 5:41pm

Hi,

I see that ADC.com carries two types of automatic water shut-off valves, namely the FortreZZ and the WaterCop. But, are there others that integrate with ADC.com and the IQ2 panel? Especially ones that don’t require you to cut the water pipe, it just fastens on to the top of valve, and closes the valve via the handle.

Thanks

ryan.boder · August 13, 2019, 11:07am

Alarm.com has thoroughly tested and supports those two valves. Other Z-Wave valves might work if they adhere to the same Z-Wave commands but they aren’t officially supported. Is there another Z-Wave valve you’ve seen that you’re interested in? We could search for instances where someone has had success with it.

xeon · August 13, 2019, 1:50pm

Hi thanks for replying.

So I found this from another alarm company using the ADC.com platform

https://atlanticsmarthomes.com/automated-water-valve/

I called them and they said its an EcoNet

It should work with the IQ Flood Sensor, and once those are triggered, I presume a rule is set so that a signal is sent to the EcoNet valve to close. It seems to have the same functionality of the Fortrezz and WaterCop, but wanted to know if that is true.

thanks

jwcsurety · August 13, 2019, 2:28pm

Yes, we have heard success stories regarding the EBV105. Here is a thread where the user states that while it does not show up properly on the panel itself, it worked as expected through Alarm.com and an IQ Panel. Another user posted success with a GC3 panel.

Note there may be some irregularity on the panel since the device is not officially supported and the UI may not accommodate for it.

xeon · August 13, 2019, 2:39pm

ahh, good to know! Hopefully by now they have addressed the issue of it not showing up properly on the panel. Perhaps some one has an update on this.

xeon · October 17, 2019, 7:20pm

I ended up installing another water valve from Dome, and not the EBV105 (which they now call the Bulldog). This is the link to what I have now:

https://www.domeha.com/z-wave-water-main-shut-off-valve

It seems to work well with my IQ flood sensors, turns off my main water valve when a flood sensor is triggered. When it was added to my IQ2 panel, to my surprise, it recognized it as a Water Valve and not a light switch. However, it seems there are still come incompatibility issues as there is no water valve card on my ADC.com account or the IQ2 panel. It shows up as a light switch (on ADC.com).

Hopefully this a future software update to be more inclusive with these water valves.

jwcsurety · October 17, 2019, 8:26pm

Thanks for following up! Alarm.com will see those as switches, yes. The Water Management card will be shown dependent on whether or not the device is fully supported by the panel and ADC.

A new Alarm.com-specific valve is out as well, the ADC-SWV100. This one is guaranteed to be compatible with Alarm.com services. I don’t have exact pricing yet, but it looks like it should be closer to the EBV-105 than the Fortrezz model.

coo30 · October 19, 2019, 12:08am

I use a dome shut off valve. My system looks at it like it’s a light switch which is fine. I set up rules for my flood sensors, when water is detected, turn the water valve off. Works great!

coo30 · October 19, 2019, 12:10am

Do you have more details on this? I could not find any information on it online.

xeon · October 20, 2019, 4:20am

I’m also wondering about the new ADC.com based water valve. As mentioned by me and the other poster, the Dome valve works really well. Besides not seeing the water valve on the panel as a water valve, what advantage is there to the adc.com switch over something like the dome valve? Thanks

rreynolds · October 20, 2019, 7:31pm

We haven’t done an exhaustive comparison with the other products yet but the features listed by Alarm.com are

The Smart Water Valve provides peace of mind that your home is protected against water damage. Set up rules to automatically shut off your water when a water sensor detects a leak. Use the Alarm.com app to turn your water on or off remotely.

Open / close water valve remotely

Automatically shut off the water when paired with a water sensor

Modular design

Z-Wave Plus communication

Z-Wave S2 security protocol

xeon · October 21, 2019, 1:25am

Thanks looks like nice device. But you’re right, I can’t tell from the picture of its one of those integrated valves (like the FortrezZ) or one of those over the existing valve type configuration like the Dome, Bulldog, etc. If new valve can meter the water usage (like how the Aeotec heavy duty smart switch meters the electrical usage on the sump pump) that would be enough for me to switch over to this!

tyler · October 21, 2019, 6:00pm

Unfortunately for DIYers, this one looks like a job for a plumber. Its installed inline, downstream from the main shut-off valve. It doesn’t sit over the existing valve like the Dome, etc.

Based on documentation, it does not appear to meter water.

xeon · October 23, 2019, 7:00pm

thanks! Just on this topic here, there is an accessory to the Fortrezz auto water valve, a flow meter, shown here:

Do you know if this will also work with the IQ2 panel (via zwave) and adc.com? I.e. just the flow meter and not fortrezz water valve auto-shutoff.

What is great about this is that it actually monitors flow and you can set points or alarms for the flow, say when you are not home for example.

nickyrsurety · October 23, 2019, 7:08pm

I don’t believe that flow meter is compatible, only the valve, but I will double check on that for you and report back!

ryan.boder · October 24, 2019, 12:50am

I’ve heard the Alarm.com Smart Water Valve (ADC-SWV100) is inline so they’ll be able to add features like detecting slow water flow which indicates a leak somewhere down the line and notify you so you can call a plumber and get it fixed. I haven’t heard of it metering water flow just to measure usage but it seems plausible. I’ll ask around.

If you’re into DIY electronics but not DIY plumbing (like me) then it might be worth hiring a plumber to install it.

ryan.boder · October 24, 2019, 9:12pm

Following up… the ADC-SWV100 that’s available now does not detect slow flow leaks or perform flow metering. A follow up product is expected early next year that adds leak detection and water flow metering. It does let you meter and keep track of water usage similar to how you can track energy usage with Alarm.com energy meters.

The water meter is an add-on to the ADC-SWV100 and can be purchased separately and added onto an existing ADC-SWV100 but since you have to cut the water line to install them both you (or your plumber) might as well wait and install them together after that product is available.

xeon · October 24, 2019, 9:33pm

thanks, that is really good information to know. I’ll wait until both products come out before start cutting pipes. In the meantime, highly recommend the Dome product.

xeon · January 6, 2020, 2:55am

Here it is.

https://www.alarm.com/blog/water-valve-news-2020

Have any information on it? Like installation requirements, availability and pricing?

jwcsurety · January 6, 2020, 5:27pm

I don’t have additional details beyond the CES announcement at this time. We will check with Alarm.com to see if there is an ETA.