New Flo Device Coming! Kitchen Faucet?

[Dueport]

Just got an email teasing a new Flo product that appears to be a kitchen faucet - with any luck this will be added to the Flo driver for C4 too and we'll have kitchen faucet control.  That would be a nice option....

 

[dinom]

Got the same email. Looks like a smart faucet, yes.

[Cinegration]

If we added this to the driver what would it do?  I’m not sure what linking it to control4 would gain? 

[Dueport]

1 hour ago, Cinegration said:

If we added this to the driver what would it do?  I’m not sure what linking it to control4 would gain? 

@Cinegration the driver now is excellent and we've found it very useful in our home.  Looking into the future for the driver and expanding it to include new devices brought into the Flo ecosystem: my feeling is the ability to add more devices into C4 is always best because it expands both integration possibilities that may be immediately obvious but also those that aren't anticipated until you need it - having more tools available is always good and adds value to the driver.  Off the top of my head some immediate possibilities for useful integrations would be: 1.) if the kitchen faucet is running for more than X minutes shut it off; 2.) when the house shutdown macro runs (when people leave and/or when everyone is sleeping) then turn off the kitchen faucet; 3.) if the leak sensor under the kitchen sink detects water shutoff the kitchen sink; 4.) if the low temp sensor in any room detects a low temp turn on the kitchen sink slightly to prevent freezing pipes (this is better than the current implementation the sink supports because it only uses the temp right under the sink); 5.) if the device supports setting temperature limits, then set the max temp at one level normally and another level when the housekeeper is working; 6.) if the faucet turns on when the house is empty trigger the home security system to alarm; 7.) if the faucet has been used recently, don't turn off the lights near the kitchen even if motion hasn't been detected recently in that room (helpful for open layouts to avoid false triggering of lights off on no motion); 8.) if the Flo detects unusual water activity make sure the kitchen sink is off first before shutting down water to the entire house; etc.  These are just a few ideas but I'm sure having the option and more time would yield more possibilities now or in the future.

Additionally, Flo by Mohen may be expanding further in the future - I believe they announced a sump pump at CES that would also be integrated - hopefully the shower too in the future.  So in the future there are likely more devices and integration options that people will want to use through this driver.

[zaphod]

I don't see the benefit in most of these uses, and/or I would never use this functionality.  Maybe #4 makes sense if there is a long term power outage in the winter, or if you are away and there is extreme cold (<-20C) then you may want the water to run for a bit every hour.

[Dueport]

47 minutes ago, zaphod said:

I don't see the benefit in most of these uses, and/or I would never use this functionality.  Maybe #4 makes sense if there is a long term power outage in the winter, or if you are away and there is extreme cold (<-20C) then you may want the water to run for a bit every hour.

That's the good thing about professional "custom" integration - what's important to one person may not be to another and we get a system that reflects those wants/needs.  The more options the better 

[South Africa C4 user]

1 hour ago, Dueport said:

That's the good thing about professional "custom" integration - what's important to one person may not be to another and we get a system that reflects those wants/needs.  The more options the better 

Hear hear! I could see myself using a number of these options… great ideas!

[zaphod]

For me the biggest benefit of water/faucet integration is turning on the taps to start the hot water flowing.  I have an on-demand natural gas water heater that is on the basement, and my Master Bedroom is in the second floor.  It takes a good minute or so until the water is hot enough for the shower.  So that would have some benefit for me - much less for the kitchen.

[Cinegration]

We’ll look into adding the devices. Might be nothing more than valve on/off though.  Currently the api is polling  so instant feedback will be an issue but, Moen has also been adding new features and we might be able to get asynchronous communication working    So Stay tuned.  
 

thank you for the examples.  We want the driver to have the ability to do the above examples.  Even if your particular job won’t use it   

 

thanks!

[Dueport]

1 hour ago, Cinegration said:

We’ll look into adding the devices. Might be nothing more than valve on/off though.  Currently the api is polling  so instant feedback will be an issue but, Moen has also been adding new features and we might be able to get asynchronous communication working    So Stay tuned.  
 

thank you for the examples.  We want the driver to have the ability to do the above examples.  Even if your particular job won’t use it   

 

thanks!

That's fantastic - thank you for considering it and looking into it!  Appreciate you being open to that feedback and look forward to hearing how it develops!  Would love to use the new features if they are doable!

[prabeau]

I still pull up my own zipper ...... just saying 

[pdapice]

On 8/23/2021 at 3:24 PM, zaphod said:

For me the biggest benefit of water/faucet integration is turning on the taps to start the hot water flowing.  I have an on-demand natural gas water heater that is on the basement, and my Master Bedroom is in the second floor.  It takes a good minute or so until the water is hot enough for the shower.  So that would have some benefit for me - much less for the kitchen.

I had this issue too, then i had a recirculating pump installed on my hot water heater. Nearly instant hot water. best purchase i ever made.

[pdapice]

I think there is also value to this driver for those who have cats, young children, or special needs people in their home.

[zaphod]

4 hours ago, pdapice said:

I had this issue too, then i had a recirculating pump installed on my hot water heater. Nearly instant hot water. best purchase i ever made.

How does this work?  And where is the pump - at the point of use, or by the water heater?

[pdapice]

6 hours ago, zaphod said:

How does this work?  And where is the pump - at the point of use, or by the water heater?

you put the pump on the hot pipe coming from the water heater. it circulates hot water to all of the faucets giving nearly instant hot water

this is the one that i had bought: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000E78XHG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

 

[Cyknight]

Basically a no return line recirc pump pushes cooled water back down the cold line (essentially forcing it into the water heater) at the faucet(s).

Only works with tanks not with on-demand heat, and isn't as efficient or effective as a true circulation setup (with dedicated return lines) but they aren't half bad at all: I used to have one on kitchen sink until I decided to redo all the lines as part of my reno (more efficient runs and insulation made it redundant in my case)

Just watch with older houses (and older plumbing) though....had one client that had one of these (types, not saying anything on the specific one linked) done on an older house (60's) for a master bath on the other side of the house. 10k sqf house floor plan. The full house reno turned out fantastic (including the automation they decide to put in that made them our client) I must say.

[zaphod]

That wouldn't work with in my instance since I have an on-demand heater.  In my case it would be nice to just run a faucet in my Master Bedroom ensuite for one minute or so as part of my WakeUp routine.  Right now I manually turn on the tap and let it run while I have my morning wizz.

As an interesting aside, I guess the definition of "older house" depends on where you live.  I am in the city of Toronto and my house originally dates from the 1950s, but I don't consider that an older house.  It is the newest house of the three that I have owned, and is younger than the homes that I live in growing up.  To me an older house was built in the 19th century or pre WWI.

[dinom]

Haha, I was born and raised in Salem, MA. Old houses for me are from 17th and 18th century. 

[C4 User]

11 hours ago, zaphod said:

That wouldn't work with in my instance since I have an on-demand heater. 

Newer on-demand water heaters have recirculating options.

[zaphod]

12 minutes ago, C4 User said:

Newer on-demand water heaters have recirculating options.

That doesn't help if there is a longish distance from the heater to the faucet.  Even before I switched away from a tank as it took a while for the hot water to travel from the furnace room in my basement to my second floor Master Bedroom ensuite bathroom.  With the on-demand it takes even longer.  So I would like to have the hot water faucet run for 60 seconds or so as part of my C4 wake up routine.