Being a pool owner, I'll throw my two cents in. You are already going to be shelling out some dough just to maintain/run a pool. So If your willing to shell out the monthly $$$ that they want to be able to control your unit, then go for it, I'm sure it would be nice to control your pool from anywhere in the world. For me, Its a luxury that is not a real necessity, but don't get me wrong, it would be cool. Now If you don't live at your home like a summer home or something, then you might really need that feature. I have the Hayward GoldLine system that controls the pools on the timers that I set. I only have to add Salt and I run a second pump for the pool cleaner and I have a LEd light system hooked up to it as well . I have a 15k gal fiberglass pool, Smith's largest residential slide and have the wireless remote and one wired remote in the main area of my pool cabana/bar.
What I found I really needed for automation was:
1.Remember to turn off the water when I add water.
2.Remember to switch off the valve to the slide when I close the Infinity automatic pool cover
3. and close the automatic pool cover when were not using the pool
4. Turn on cover water pump when it rains
I have filled it to the brim a couple of times, because of the over 40 thing and I have shut the cover to find the next day I forgot to shut off the pool slide valve and dumped a ton of water on my cover. Fortunately for me I haven't really wasted any water yet. In other words I've been lucky, but I know that the big one could happen.
I just ordered a couple motorized ball valves, and I am going to set it up to control adding the water and close the valve to the slide. I found that having an open or close scenes are really all that matters for me. The pools is pretty much automated once you set it to run and my maintenance is just throwing the right amount of salt in every week or two. We got the LED light system that changes colors, and I can control it with the Hayward pool waterproof remote. All I need is an automated shut down or open scene. I already have a outdoor z-wave switch on the pool cover pump set to come on when my weather app indicates the need.
That said, if some of these super bright folks were to come up with a app for the Vera to work with the link for Hayward, and you could bypass the monthly subscription I would buy it, and be all about having it. If I were you and going the gunite pool route, you will likely find more maintenance with chemicals needed, and the Hayward set up that keeps the water right, would be more of a necessity (assuming you live at the home year round) than the Home automation feature IE: turning on lights or adjusting the run time of the pump/filters from the internet. Pool cover was the most important feature for me. Safety First, Automate Second!! Have Fun!
