Just before rebranding as Eve Systems to focus on HomeKit devices in late June, Elgato launched its Eve Aqua Water Controller, a HomeKit-enabled device that monitors water usage. Connects to an outdoor water faucet for control and monitoring.
Although Eve Aqua can be used with any hose connection, it is primarily intended for use with sprinklers, which can be set to run automatically on a schedule for optimal watering. I’ve been testing an Eve Aqua at my home for the past few months, and I’ve found it to be a helpful automation tool to help with irrigation needs.
installation
Installation of the Eve Aqua is simple, as it comes with two AA batteries required for power and simply screws into your existing external water faucet. The Eve Aqua has a male connector on the bottom that allows you to screw a hose directly into the female connector or the Eve Aqua comes with an adapter that can be screwed on to support a quick connection.
I had an initial problem with some water coming out around the top connection, but after several tries and making sure things were screwed together pretty tightly, I was able to eliminate most of the problem. I’ve re-tightened it a few times in the past few months after a little dripping and it’s kept things under control.
Once your Eve Aqua is installed, the Eve app walks you through the rest of the setup process: scanning the HomeKit code, assigning it to a room, giving it a name, and configuring options like scheduling. If you need to change unit settings, such as liters to gallons, you’ll find it in the Eve section within the iOS Settings app, which can be a bit difficult to discover.
by controlling
With scheduling, Eve Aqua can automatically run your sprinkler at your optimal watering time, but you can control things on demand with a variety of methods. Both the Eve app and Apple’s Home app offer manual control, while Siri lets you turn things on and off with just your voice. And if you prefer not to use a device or want someone else to control things, the Eve Aqua itself has a button that will start and stop the water flow. A “Child Lock” option in the Eve app settings can disable the button to prevent children or others from manually turning on the water.
Schedules are stored locally on Eve Aqua, so they will run automatically regardless of whether it has a wireless connection. A connection is required to add or change schedules or control Eve Aqua on demand. Notably, the schedules used for Eve Aqua are limited to the Eve app, so you can’t use the Home app to set them up.
Beyond controlling watering schedules, Eve Aqua is also able to estimate water usage, which can be handy if you want to keep tabs on how much water is going into your lawn or garden maintenance. Eve Aqua doesn’t measure water flow directly, but if you use the Eve app to input flow rates for your sprinklers connected to Eve Aqua, the app estimates your usage based on the duration of your water session. will count Of course, this means that you need to know the flow rate for your irrigation system.
Similar to how scenes work in Apple’s Home app, the Eve app also supports scenes, and Eve Aqua can be used as a trigger or as part of a scene if you want to automate multiple aspects of your home simultaneously.
connection
Eve Aqua connects wirelessly via Bluetooth Low Energy, allowing you to control it directly from the Eve app, Apple’s Home app or your iOS device via Siri. If you have an Apple TV, iPad, or HomePod, you’ll be able to access Eve Aqua remotely.
Siri and Home app control generally work well, although I’ve had a few instances where it failed to connect to the Eve Aqua. This wasn’t a consistent issue though, and most of the time Eve Aqua responded to my Siri commands within seconds.
I’m not sure how long the Eve Aqua’s batteries can be expected to last, as the Eve app is still reporting 100 percent battery level after three months of occasional use. Obviously the more often you access Eve Aqua wirelessly, the faster the batteries will drain. But once they run low, swapping in new AA batteries is a simple process and it’s a good idea to remove the batteries anyway when storing them for the winter.
Weather resistance
As an accessory that will likely be mounted outside your home for a few weeks or at a time, the Eve Aqua needs to stand up to the elements, and Eve Systems has done just that, with the device carrying an IPX4 water resistance rating. That means Eve Aqua can withstand water splashes from any direction, which you’d expect with exposure to the elements. The rating does not cover exposure to forced water jets or immersion, both of which are very unlikely to be encountered in normal use of your Eve Aqua.
Eve Aqua also has UV protection under an Australian certification program, ensuring the device will stand up to long periods of sun exposure without getting damaged. I’ve had mine attached to an external spigot for three months, and aside from some dirt and leaf matter it’s picked up over time that’s easily cleaned off, it’s still in great shape.
While Eve Aqua can stand up to sun and rain, it’s not immune to frost or freezing exposure, so depending on your location you may need to remove it and bring it indoors for the winter. This is to be expected, as any water that accumulates inside the device can easily damage the interior, and homeowners in colder regions should generally turn off the water supply to their outside faucets for the coldest parts of the winter to avoid frozen faucets and potentially burst pipes.
wrap up
Eve Aqua is a handy accessory if you like to schedule sprinkler watering sessions on a regular basis, and if you’re a data geek, you’ll appreciate the estimated water consumption graph provided within the Eve app. Benefits come with a price tag, and $100 is a bit of an expense, so you need to consider whether the expense is worth it for your particular situation.
Connections can be spotty at times, but for the most part, the controls work well and even when connections don’t work, problems seem to be fixed fairly quickly and the schedules already set for the onboard memory will continue. And hopefully, Eve will be able to fix some connectivity issues in future firmware updates.
If you’re interested in these kinds of accessories, it’s Eve or nothing, and the Eve Aqua is the only HomeKit product we’ve seen in this niche. Rachio’s irrigation controller recently gained HomeKit support, but that device is for dedicated irrigation control rather than a traditional spigot-and-hose system.
Eve Aqua costs $99.95 and is available from Amazon, Apple and other select retailers.
Note: Eve Systems provided Eve Aqua to MacRumors free of charge for the purpose of this review. No other compensation was received. MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon and may earn a commission on purchases made through links in this article.
