YoLink FlowSmart Control, Water Usage Monitor & Leak Detector: Advanced Smart Home Water Meter & Motorized Shutoff Valve , 1 Inch, Hub Included

I installed this system on a vacation property with a home water system and two separate yard watering lines, all of which branch out from a central water line coming from city water. There’s a single main water meter and shutoff valve for the entire property, but it’s located several hundred feet away and takes some effort to access. To add to the picture, the property has had a history of recurring water leaks which cost the previous owner thousands of dollars in unexpected water bills. Needless to say, one of my priorities was to prevent this from happening again.After a significant amount of online research, I decided to try out the YoLink FlowSmart system. I consists of a battery powered control unit, a water monitor/meter, and a motorized ball valve. The control unit is directly wired to the monitor/meter and ball valve, and communicates wirelessly with a YoLink hub, which in turn is connected to my Wifi router. I installed the monitor and valve downstream from the main meter, just before the line splits off to the home and yard watering lines. This allows me to monitor water usage nearly real-time on the YoLink app, and to easily shut off the valve remotely if it detects any suspected leaks. So far, this has already helped me find one confirmed leak. I ran into one completely unexpected issue – a mouse chewed through the wire harness to the valve, disabling it. I emailed YoLink customer support for advice, and they responded within a couple of hours. They quickly FedEx’d me a replacement unit within a couple of days, which allowed me to get it operational again with minimal downtime.In the meantime, YoLink has quickly become the primary home automation solution for my vacation home – I’ve added water sensors placed underneath sink areas and by the washing machine which, if triggered, will automatically shut off the main water supply, as well as various motion sensors and outlet controllers. I also added a couple of temperature/humidity sensors and two garden sprinkler controllers to fully automate the existing 9-zone water system. All of them are easy to pair, have a much longer range than either direct Wifi or Z-Link, and have an impressive battery life. I will likely add two more YoLink water valves to give me additional flexibility in isolating different sections of the water system.Overall, I highly recommend this as a home automation system that’s very functional, easy to set up and use, and especially shines for long-ranges.Positives:* Easiest pairing and inclusion process of any home automation system I’ve tried so far* Long range far surpassing WiFi and Z-Wave is great for larger properties (I’m using motion sensors on the far side of a 5-acre lot with no connectivity issues)* Long battery life* Large selection of other home automation sensors/controls to expand system* Great customer support* Functional, easy to use app* No ongoing subscription costs!Downsides:* Water valve wire harness is a bit on the delicate side for an outdoor installation – recommend additional wire shielding to slip over exposed connections (easily found on amazon)* Would be great if app provided more options in customizing the home screen layout in the future

This is a very good system for keeping track of your water usage and for remote shut off in case of emergency. The city said I used 9k gallons one month. Which there wouldn’t have been any way I used that much so I looked for a system like this to double check. Sure enough I typically use 3k gallons a month. I will always have a way to double check now.The app is very useful and I can easily monitor for leaks and usage. We just got back from vacation and I double checked the house while away to make sure there wasn’t any water usage in case of any leaks. All good. I bought an old house and it’s nice to have this peace of mind. I felt the unit is very worth the money.

I am very happy with this YoLink system and am confident it will stop damage from the most common water leaks near or around faucets and water connnected appliances plus my HVAC condensate. I have installed sensors inside vanity or cabinet under each sink, under the refrigerator with icemaker, under the dishwasher, clothes washer, around the base of each toilet, water heater, and near every shower and tub. I have also installed where condensate drains / pumps could backup or overflow. The system provides an alarm on each identified smart phone, a local alarm and I have programmed the system to immediately shut off the home water supply when a leak is detected (other than condensate leak since that is not from the water supply). I have tested the system and it seems to work very well. While a full coverage system like this with a lot of sensors is expensive, its still much less than the deductible for my home insurance and most insurance policies don’t cover damage from plumbing and appliance leaks anyway. Its also convenient to be able to shut off the whole home water supply from your smart phone when doing any plumbing maintenance or installations.

YoLink FlowSmart ControlAfter installing I have tested the amount of water and time of water usage and each time I exceeded the settings the valve turned off and alerted me to the fault.

Water meter and valve solved one of my many water issues here at the ranch. I now have over 100 yolink devices connected. Great system!

I am in a fight with my water utility over water usage. This installation gives me instant information (and visuals) about my usage. This was easy to install (I'm a DIYer), and only required that I turn the water off at the street for 22 minutes to install. My expectation is that the high-quality components will last many years. Highly recommend this to monitor family showering, laundry, and toilet habits. Nothing like an instant graph to make the point.