vacation home temperature monitoring. The focus there was temperature and humidity. But there is a more urgent monitoring need. Leak monitoring. There are a lot of choices for leak sensors in various price points and using various technologies. The sensors my fellow writer used were wifi based and require an app.
Going With Govee Leak Sensor
Using an app doesn’t bother me, but it being the only option worries me in terms of longevity. So I opted for Govee Water Leak Sensors. You can buy them by themselves, or with a wifi gateway. These sensors transmit at the common frequency of 433Mhz which means a simple usb dongle can pick it up and integrate it into any system, in addition to using the wifi gateway with app. I’ve since bought and installed them for many relatives.
Govee, however, has a wide range of technology. They offer their Leak Sensor 2s, which use LoRa technology on the 915Mhz band, which is a low power technology with extended range. But for the most part, I can pick up the older version on all around the house. I don’t need the extra range LoRa might offer. Ability to integrate is more important to me.
What can you do with integration? If you have a cutoff switch for your water, you can trigger it to close. You can notify more than one person, very flexibly. Not just phone notifications, sirens, flashing lights…whatever. The hardest part of home automation is designing the automation. The tools have gotten better, but the planning can be the challenge.
In the end, integration or not, the Govee classic Leak Sensor is frequently on sale, it is reliable, and has alerted to water leaks behind toilets and sinks on numerous occasions. Place one anywhere there is running water. Use the wifi option to be alerted when you are far away. Consider as well a remote water shut off device that will allow you to shut off your water remotely; perhaps we will discuss one in a future post.
