Remote Pool Heat Control Integration

For owners who have pools at their rentals, optional pool heat is a popular way to increase revenue. Pool heat can now be remotely controlled via a number of third party controllers. However, the owner must still manually turn the heat on/off for each guest.

I would like to request a feature that would integrate with a third party controller to automatically turn the pool heat on or off based on the guests reservation. Ideally there would be an option to turn it on a day or two ahead of their arrival.

This a great question, Been looking at pool controls a lot there very expensive and they seem to break a lot also. We just had one fail and wow expensive to repair also. 

we were thinking a using an api or even a simple trigger as xml text to automate a workflow with any of the workflow solutions out there. But to be honest can’t find the right good pool reliable cost efficient automation solution yet. 

have you had any luck finding one… ? 

We are using VillaControl, an integrated smart home solution, at our rental properties. VC not only controls pool equipment (e.g. the z-wave enabled Intermatic controller) but also thermostats, door locks, relais, door/window contacts etc.

The problem is, that they don't have an API. So I wrote some programs of my own, that are triggered by the OR third party notification emails: every time a new booking is entered into OR, a notification email is sent to my address. My program detects it, parses its content, logs into VillaControl, generates a new booking there, extracts the automatically generated door code and writes it back to the corresponding OR booking (via the OR API).

From the data of the VillaControl booking, VC starts the pool heating 1-2 days (user defineable) prior to the guest arrival, enables the door codes at the date/hour of the guest's arrival and sets the property in "occupied" (as opposed to "unoccupied") mode. There are 2 different sets of rules that apply in these modes, e.g. different pool filtration times and speeds, spa availability, pool heating temperatures, room thermostat setting and limits (since our rentals are located in Florida, we've limited the AC's to 70F).