Skydrop has worked hard to build a well-connected smart sprinkler controller. We have built in Text and Email notifications, automatic weather adjustments, restrictions, freeze prevention, watering reports and more.
When you have more than one smart connected device, they can work together to provide an enhanced, more intelligent system. We have integrated with IFTTT to provide a simple way to tell smart devices “if this, then that.”
Let’s say you have an Amazon Echo, Tap or Dot and you want to turn the sprinklers off, or start them via Speaking to Alexa. With IFTTT and Skydrop you can now simply say. “Alexa trigger water zone 4” and your system will water zones 4. This is great if you have a garden or new vegetation that you would like to occasionally add a bit more water too. If the system is running and you wanted to stop the sprinklers you can say, “Alexa trigger stop watering.”
We have built in water reporting, but you really want to slice and review the data how you want it. With IFTTT you can automatically track watering data on a Google spreadsheet.
With a Nest Protect, we already have an integration to have each of the zones run the sprinklers run for a short duration in the event of a fire. But, let’s say you have an Ecobee Thermostat, if the thermostats indoor temperature is greater than 120 degrees there is likely a fire. With IFTTT and Skydrop you can trigger a notification and have each of the zones run briefly for fire containment.
With a connected motion activated camera like Ario, if there is motion in your yard late at night, you could trigger watering for a specific zone to drive the intruder away.
Ready to get started with IFTTT?
1. Open your internet browser of choice, and browse to https://ifttt.com
2. If you already have an IFTTT account skip to step 3. If you don’t have an account, click on the “Sign up” link in the upper right corner. Follow the prompts to set up an account.
3. Click the “Sign in” link in the upper right corner and enter your login credentials.
4. Once logged in, you will be presented with pre-made recipes for various channels. You can click on the “Channels” link in the navigation bar and search for Skydrop to find a few of our pre-made recipes. If you wish to create your own custom recipes with Skydrop, see the next sections.
IFTTT Integration
Skydrop has Triggers and Actions registered on IFTTT. A Trigger is an event that happens on your Skydrop controller that IFTTT is subscribed to. It is the “IF This” in the IFTTT recipe.
An example recipe using a Skydrop Trigger could possibly be.
IF Smart watering completed, THEN log complete in Evernote.
The Trigger is the “Smart watering completed” part of the recipe.
An action is the “THEN this” part of a recipe.
An example recipe containing a Skydrop Action would be
“IF the weather forecast shows rain, THEN Stop watering”.
The Action is the “Stop watering” part of the recipe.
Create a recipe using a Skydrop Trigger
1. Login to https://ifttt.com
2. Click on “My Recipes” in the navigation bar header.
3. Click the button labeled “Create a Recipe”.
4. When the next page loads, you will be presented with the following screen. Click on the blue “this” text.
5. You will be prompted to choose a channel to use as a Trigger. Type “skydrop” into the search text box and click on the Skydrop icon
6. You will be prompted to choose a trigger. Choose your desired trigger by clicking on it. Details about each trigger should be available. You can also refer to our “Skydrop Triggers” section on this page for more detail.
7. Next you will be prompted to choose which controller you want to use. If you have multiple controllers you will be presented with the names of each of your controllers. Choose the one you wish to use in your recipe. If you only have one controller, choose that controller name. Click the “Create Trigger” button.
8. You will be presented with the following screen. Click on the the blue “that” text.
9. You will be prompted to choose an Action channel. Click on your desired channel and fill out the Action Fields. Each Skydrop trigger passes “Ingredients” to your desired action. To use any of Skydrop Triggers’ ingredients, click on the blue flask icon within the action fields input text box and choose your desired ingredient. Details for the ingredients passed by each Skydrop Trigger can be found in the “Skydrop Triggers” section above.
10. After you have chosen you Action Fields, click on the “Create Action” button.
11. Review your recipe and click on the “Create Recipe” if you are satisfied.
12. Enjoy your Skydrop!
Create a recipe using a Skydrop Action
1. Refer to steps 1 – 4 of the “Create a recipe using a Skydrop Trigger.
2. Setup the trigger. If using a Skydrop Trigger, refer to “Create a recipe using a Skydrop Trigger”. If using other channels Trigger, follow the prompts.
3. Once you get to the prompt to “Choose action channel”, type Skydrop into the search text box. Click on the Skydrop icon.
4. You will be prompted to choose an action. Click on the desired action.
5. You will be prompted to complete action fields. Use the drop down menu to choose which controller you want to complete the action. Some Actions will have more options such as “Water specific zone”. Fill in all of the required action fields. Click on the “Create Action” button.
6. Review your recipe. If you are satisfied click the “Create Recipe” button.
7. Enjoy your Skydrop!
Skydrop Triggers
Currently we have five IFTTT triggers; Smart watering completed, Smart watering about to start, Freeze delay, Controller disconnected from cloud, and Controller connected to cloud. When each event is triggered, Skydrop passes IFTTT a list of “Ingredients”. The ingredients vary depending on the specified trigger. Individual Triggers details are listed below.
Smart watering completed:
Description: This trigger fires every time smart watering has completed. If will not fire after manually watering completes
- Trigger Fields(inputs):
- Which controller: {{controllers name}}
- Trigger Ingredients(outputs):
- CreatedAt: The date and time this event was created
- DurationWatered: The amount of time, in minutes, your Skydrop controller watered
- NumberZonesWatered: The total number of zones that watered during the cycle
Smart watering about to start:
Description: This trigger fires every time smart watering is about to begin. This trigger does not fire when watering is started manually
- Trigger Fields(inputs):
- Which controller: {{controller name}}
- Trigger Ingredients(outputs):
- CreatedAt: The date and time this event was created
- AnticipatedMinutes: The anticipated minutes the cycle will run
- NumberZonesAnticipated: The anticipated number of zones that will water
Freeze delay:
Description: This trigger fires every time a watering time gets skipped due to weather being close to freezing (32°F)
- Trigger Fields(inputs):
- Which controller: {{controller name}}
- Trigger Ingredients(outputs):
- CreatedAt: The date and time this event was created
- CurrentTemp: The temperature, in Fahrenheit , that triggered the event
Controller disconnected from cloud:
Description: This trigger fires when the controller has been disconnected for more than 6 hours.
- Trigger Fields(inputs):
- Which controller: {{controller name}}
- Trigger Ingredients(outputs):
- DateTimeDisconnected: Date and time the Skydrop controller disconnected from the cloud
Skydrop Actions
Currently we have three IFTTT actions; Water all zones, Water specific zone, and Stop watering. All Skydrop actions require one or more action fields(inputs). Individual Action details are listed below.
Water all zones:
Description: This Action will water all zones starting from the first zone.
- Action Fields(input):
- Which controller: {{controller name}}
Water specific zones:
Description: This Action will start watering a specified zone.
- Action Fields(input):
- Which controller: {{controller name}}
- Which zone: {{number of zone}}
Stop watering:
Description: This Action will stop all zones from watering if any are on.
- Action Fields(input):
- Which controller: {{controller name}}
