With the integration installed the device was auto-detected. Home Assistantįlume integration into Home Assistant was very simple. Over time the Flume system evaluates flow patterns to work out what was tap, toilet, shower, laundry and other. High flow alert – flows of 5 GPM lasting 15 minutes or more.Small leak alert – small flows lasting 2 hours or more.Looking in settings it has two preset alerts: The Flume mobile application (pictured above) is quite useful. Even with the difficulty presented by our window screens, the entire installation took me about 90 minutes. We started to accumulate historical data about our water usage. Once the bridge found the sensing device everything just worked. This was remedied by relocating the bridge to a corner in the living room, about 5 yards closer to the water meter. It was immediately apparent that the brass mesh window screens across the front of the house caused a problem establishing the link between the two devices.

Given this arrangement the sensor and the bridge could not be paired. I started by putting the bridge in the central hallway where the core network switch is located. It was only slightly impacted by the actuality of our house. Speaking of installation, ours was very simple. The interpreted reading is available to a smart phone app and (of course) integrated in our Home Assistant installation.įlume has a web page where you can check to determine that your existing water meter is compatible with their device. This information is relayed over a proprietary 950 MHz wireless link to a small bridge that connects onward to our Wi-Fi. This senses the motion of a magnet on the rotating mechanism inside the city meter. It has a sensor device that clamps onto the city water meter. However, I settled on the simpler approach used by the Flume water flow meter. At our home the main water supply line from the city is plastic, so this could work for us. One type, as embodied in the Stream Labs Smart Home Water Monitor, clamps onto the water supply line and read the flow using an ultrasonic beam sent through the pipe. I considered two kinds of add-on flow meters designed for DIY installation by the homeowner. It would not turn off the water, just alert me that I had to do it. I hoped that I could set an alert to tell me if we left the water running too long or into the evening. I was never able to get its little hub to connect to the device.Īs a result, I returned it and began to investigate devices that would meter flow in the main water line from the city. The trouble is I could not get it to work for me.

This device would only control one faucet, but under $60, it was cheap. Last year, I tried an initial experiment using the Orbit B-Hyve Smart Hose Faucet timer. On such occasions the result is a soggy, boggy part of the yard and an unwelcome spike in the water bill. This was motivated by the fact that we have gardens, and we occasionally forget the water is on. I’ve been wanting to add a smart water flow meter to our home for a while. Further, it can draw out my compulsive tendencies. As I’ve mentioned previously, household instrumentation is addictive.

Flume water sensor reviews