Watch for leaks and monitor the outdoor temperature with the Fibaro Flood Sensor

Depending on where you live, a rain barrel might be a nicety or a necessity. The big containers to store water might be used as an convenient way of recycling water for gardening and laundry or they might be essential to your livelihood in a dry climate with water restrictions.

One thing is for sure: you really don’t want a leak in your rain barrel. And as we get closer to freezing conditions, this is a concern for homeowners.

Today, we’re going to use our Fibaro Flood Sensor to alert us whenever our rain barrel leaks. Place the Flood Sensor near the rain barrel (but sheltered so that rainwater won’t set it off) and then open your Staples Connect app. We’ll create an Activity for this situation.

We’ll set up the Activity so that it sends us a notification if it detects water. To do this:

  1. Open the app or go to my.staples-connect.com.
  2. Tap Activities.
  3. Tap New Activity (+). Name the Activity “Rain Barrel Leak.”
  4. Choose a device to start the Activity, then choose the Fibaro Water Sensor. Choose “Water is detected” for the Activity reason.
  5. We’re just going to create a notification on our phones, so we won’t control and devices. Tap Choose, then tap Next to advance through the device adjustment steps.
  6. It’s time to set up our notification. Write a brief message that will alert you, like “Rain barrel is leaking”, and then turn push notifications on.
  7. Review your Activity, tap Finish.

Whenever your rain barrel leaks, a notification will pop up on your phone or tablet telling you that the rain barrel is leaking and that you should go outside and check it. If you want to check the temperature, swipe on the notification to open Staples Connect and then go to the Fibaro Temperature Sensor. You’ll be able to see if it’s close to freezing.

And you don’t have to worry about the Fibaro Flood Sensor in cold weather. It’s able to withstand temperatures as low as 14ºF. So place it outdoors and rest easy knowing that it and your rain barrel are fine. If anything goes wrong, Staples Connect will let you know.

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