b•hyve Smart Hose Faucet Times with WIFI Hub Review

b•hyve Smart Hose Faucet Times with WIFI Hub
Orbit

$79.99 U.S.

Have you ever wanted the convenience of an automated sprinkler system for you lawn without having to the expense of digging up the lawn to install the system? Well, with the b•hyve Smart Hose Faucet Times with WIFI Hub you can have the sprinkler system without the expense or digging up your lawn.

The b•hyve is a two part system that turns your normal sprinkler into an automated one. It consists of a small box that connects to your outside faucet and then to your hose, and a small WiFi device that is about the size of a typical thumbdrive. This item connects to your networks and then connects to the main part on the faucet allowing you access to the device through an app on your phone or tablet. 

Set up is extremely easy. You install 2 AA batteries into the main unit and turn it on. Install the app on your phone or tablet. Plug in the hub to an outlet and run the app. The app walks you through a pretty straightforward process of getting everything set up.

Once you have the set up complete you can use the app to make a schedule for the sprinkler to run. It can be a typical daily schedule or you can set a “smart” schedule. The “smart” schedule will decide watering on the weather in your area. If it determines that is is going to rain when you have your sprinkler set to turn on it will skip that day’s watering. I have constantly been getting notifications on my phone telling me that watering has been delayed due to the weather.

One setting in the app that helps regulate how much water your lawn gets is the saturation of your lawn. I’m not exactly sure how one would measure this, but it is there.

There are two improvements I’d like to see in the future. One, there is not a direct way through the app to just turn on the water or turn it off. You have to have a schedule set or you can run an extended test of the system that will turn the water on for a set amount of time. It’s okay for that purpose, but I just want a simple on and off feature. You can hold a button on the outside device to open the faucet and bypass the device when you want, but being able to do this directly in the app would be much more convenient.

My second feature request is a bit trickier to implement. While not a fortune, the b•hyve is not cheap. With that being said it is easily stolen off of the faucet for anyone that walks by. All one has to do is disconnect the hose and disconnect the b•hive from the faucet. I am not sure how this could be implemented, but a way to secure the unit to the faucet to prevent theft or at least make it harder to steal will be a welcome addition.

Overall the b•hyve works as expected, which is outstanding. It is a great way to have an automatic sprinkler system added to your house (limited by where you put the hose, or how many units you have installed) without digging up your yard and without the expense. If you forget to water your lawn and just let it die in the warm weather, this might be for you.

MyMac.com Review Rating is 8 out of 10.