Rachio Expands the Smart Home into the Smart Yard with Launch of Second Generation Smart Sprinkler Controller

DENVER, Feb. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Rachio today announced the national release of the Rachio Smart Sprinkler Controller — Generation 2, the latest version of the leading smart sprinkler controller that brings the smart home outdoors and allows users to manage their sprinkler system from any smart mobile device. The launch, which comes on the heels of a $7.1 million round of funding in November 2015, furthers Rachio's mission of transforming the smart home into the smart yard, saving users up to 50 percent off their monthly water bill while also helping conserve one of the planet's greatest resources.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, some experts estimate that as much as 50 percent of water used for irrigation is wasted due to evaporation, wind, or runoff caused by inefficient irrigation methods and systems. Generation 2 empowers Rachio users to control every aspect of their landscape via a smartphone, tablet or laptop, allowing them to manage the entire irrigation process from the palm of their hand — or to simply set it and forget it. Driven by intelligent, cloud-based software, Rachio taps into the user's Wi-Fi network to analyze recent and upcoming weather and humidity levels. With this information, as well as personal soil types and lawn conditions, Rachio adapts to each individual yard, saving users water and money while giving them the beautiful landscape they want.

"By extending the smart home into the yard, we've helped people conserve more than 500 million gallons of water since our launch in 2012. With the release of Generation 2, our mission is to help users save more than one billion gallons of water in 2016," said Chris Klein, CEO and Co-founder of Rachio. "Generation 2 builds upon the success of our flagship Iro model by providing more user-friendly functionality and sprinkler control, further empowering Rachio owners to take control of their landscaping via any smart mobile device."

Generation 2 also includes the first ever smart sprinkler direct integration with Amazon Echo and Alexa . This integration lets Rachio users implement weather delay and zone control commands, simply by using their voice. Already compatible with many leading smart home brands, including Nest, Xfinity, Alarm.com, Control4, Creston, IFTTT, Nexia and Wink, Generation 2's integration with Alexa provides users the most connected smart sprinkler controller on the market and seamlessly extends the smart home into the yard.

"It's now possible for customers to control their Rachio sprinkler system using only their voice – just ask Alexa to water your flower beds for five minutes, or to stop watering the back yard," said Rob Pulciani, Director, Amazon Alexa. "We invested in Rachio through our Alexa Fund so they could make it easier for their customers to interact with their technology and improve everyday life. We think customers will enjoy using Alexa to direct their Rachio sprinkler controller."

The Generation 2 can efficiently water as many as 16 zones, and includes: additional sensor options for flexibility; a sleek and more compact design; more seamless, user-friendly set-up process; customized enclosure; LED lights to provide status alerts; manual controls on the box; and a reduced MSRP of $249.99. And with Gartner estimating a 30-percent increase in connected devices in 2016, Rachio's Generation 2 provides users the most connected smart sprinkler controller on the market and extends the smart home into the yard.

The Generation 2 rollout follows Rachio's close of a $7.1 million Series A in November 2015. Led by Arborview Capital and including Michigan eLab and previous Rachio backers Hallett Capital and Miramar Digital Ventures, the funding will help further the company's national expansion and support customer demand of Generation 2.

Generation 2 is available at Amazon, Apple.com, Home Depot, BestBuy.com and www.rachio.com, and the free Rachio app is available for download on iTunes and Google Play, as well as at Rachio.com. For additional information on WaterSense rebates through the EPA, visit http://rachio.com/rebate-form.

About Rachio
Rachio, the maker of the leading smart sprinkler controller, is changing the way people think about water. The Wi-Fi enabled controller and mobile app makes using at-home sprinklers easy and convenient while saving users water and money. With Rachio's technology, the term 'smart home' expands beyond the house and into the yard, allowing users to set it and forget it while helping conserve one of the planet's greatest resources. To date, Rachio has helped users save more than 453 million gallons of water. For more information, visit www.rachio.com.

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SOURCE Rachio

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