Qolsys IQ Smart Water Valve Kits Now Available from Alarm Grid

We have a short but exciting announcement today, as new Qolsys IQ Smart Water Valve Kits are now available! There are two (2) kits available, including the Qolsys IQWV908-KIT-PG that uses PowerG communication and the Qolsys IQWV908-KIT-SL that uses 319.5 MHz S-Line communication.

Both of these new kits include two (2) components. The centerpiece is a smart water valve that uses Z-Wave Plus V2 700-Series communication technology. This piece of hardware has an adaptive torque output and can be self-installed on most quarter-turn (1/4 turn) ball valve pipes ranging from one-half inch (1/2") to one and a quarter inch (1-1/4"). Wireless communication is kept super secure using the optional Z-Wave S2 Security Protocol, which is supported by most 500-Series and 700-Series Z-Wave controllers.

Some of the best aspects of the Z-Wave 700-Series Qolsys IQ Smart Water Valve include its ability to be used indoors or outdoors (keep out of direct sunlight), it has an adaptive torque rating of up to eight (8) Nm, and its ingress protection rating of IP66, making it both waterproof and dustproof. The water valve is nice and compact at just 14.8mm x 9.6mm x 13.3mm in size, and it weighs a mere 603g. It can be used reliably in temperatures ranging from 14°F to 121°F. Best of all, it can be self-installed, without the need to hire a plumber.

The other component of the kit is a wireless flood sensor that is ideally used in conjunction with the smart water valve. Depending on the kit you choose, you will get either the DSC 915 MHz PowerG PG9985 Flood Sensor or the Qolsys 319.5 MHz S-Line QS5536-840 Flood Sensor. The PowerG option is good if you have any version of the Qolsys IQ Panel 2 Plus or a DSC PowerSeries NEO Panel with an added PowerG Transceiver. Meanwhile, the S-Line variant is good for the original non-Plus Qolsys IQ Panel 2 or even something like a wireless Interlogix Alarm Panel.

The biggest advantage to using the Z-Wave smart water valve and the wireless flood sensor together is that you can create an automated scene to turn the water off in an emergency situation. The way that this works is that when the flood sensor detects liquid, it will send a signal to the centralized alarm control panel. This faulted zone can then be programmed to trigger an automated smart scene that tells the Z-Wave valve to shut off the water supply. This can stop the flooding and potentially save you thousands of dollars in serious damage. If you've ever experienced the devastation of a major flood, then you will realize this importance.

Do you have any thoughts on this new smart water valve and flood sensor combination package from Qolsys? Share your viewpoint in a comment down below. We would love to hear what you have to say. It's great to see Qolsys taking such initiative in the field of flood damage prevention. Who knows, maybe Resideo and Honeywell Home or 2GIG and Nortek will release their own smart water valve in the near future (pure speculation). From what we can tell Qolsys really put out a winner here, and we're really excited to see it in action. Anyway, that's all the news for now. Keep posted to the Alarm Grid Blog for more updates in the security and smart home automation world coming real soon!