HeroLabs Sonic Water Shut-Off Valve
This Hero water monitor has been provided by the Locket insider programme. However this doesn't affect my review of the product or influence my opinion in any way.
When seeing this product for the first time I was surprised at its size, thinking it was rather large for a water shut off valve however after using this for a 2 months now, I can see there is a lot more to this product than meets the eye.
HeroLabs Sonic Water shut-off Valve
The unit itself is fitted directly to you main water inlet into your house after your stopcock. It is highly recommended that a trained professional plumper installs the unit. The unit and the tiny hub work together to feed information to the app.
Sonic Water Shut-off Valve fitted to main water inlet.
The app is your window in to all the information and stats that the sensors in the main unit collect.
Sonic App - Home Screen
The main unit has sensors for detecting water flow, pressure, and temperature. The AI behind the application then uses this data to give you useful information like how much water you use per day, how much water is used by each appliance or each room. On top of this the application can also alert you to if it believes there may be a leak in your water system.
Home Screen showing check-up alert
Leaks are detected by abnormal water flow such as a large volume of water without a break in the flow or a small volume of water over a long period of time. The volume of water required to be detected before alerting can be set in the settings of the app.
Event screen of Sonic App - showing water usage events from today
The unit can also be configured to turn the mains water off if a leak is detected. The water can also be turned on again through the app. When the water is turned off through the app the unit responds and turns on its motors which turns part of the upper casing and indicates that the water is off. The status is then reflected in the app. The unit itself can be powered by 4 AA batteries or the supplied power adapter if there is a socket close enough to the units installed location.
Historic trends can also be revised in the app which is good when you add new appliances to your home so you can see how this changes your water usage.
Stats screen in Sonic App - Showing water usage for this week
Hero also provide an API which can be used to pull the status of the hub and unit and also see current usage statistics. The API also allows the user to control the unit and switch it from open to closed. Having this API means that the integration possibilities with this are endless and you can have the shut off unit react to the state of other sensors in your home. For instance if you have other water sensors from companies such as Smartthings, Tuya or Aqara, you can have the shut off valve change to close when one of the leak sensors detects a leak. This then gives you two methods of monitoring for leaks. ones using the sensors in the Sonic unit and also through remote leak sensors. You can also use the API for monitoring your homes water usage and to notify you when a set volume of water is used in 24 hours for instance.
All in all, I have found the Hero Labs Sonic water shut off valve to be a perfect addition to my smart home and it provides integrations in to an area of the home that is seldom thought about when it comes to smart homes and home automation. My only criticism for this product is the fact that the valves input and output pipe attachments are plastic and use a plastic thread. Although not necessarily a problem once fitted, having to tighten brass nuts on to the plastic threads can be a little daunting as you don't want to break or strip the plastic threads. Other than this small point both the main unit and the hub are built very well and the product has become a welcome addition to my smart home in a very short period of time.
