Heat Wave Boost

Heat Wave Boost is a highly requested feature that lets you set temperature rules (like "add water if it’s over 95ºF for 2+ days") and recommends schedule adjustments for your sprinkler controller. For Flex Daily users, it can even add extra water without delaying the next event.

Price: $29.99–$29.99 USD

Key Benefits

Temperature-Based Rules
Set custom temperature thresholds and duration triggers. When a heat wave or cool spell hits, your system knows exactly how to respond.

Smart Notifications
Get recommendations when weather triggers your rules. Accept, modify, or dismiss suggestions—or set rules to apply automatically for hands-free protection.

Plant Protection
Prevent stress damage during extreme weather. Extra water during heat waves keeps plants thriving, while reduced watering during cool periods prevents overwatering.

How It Works

1. Purchase online and we’ll email you a redemption code
2. Activate Heat Wave Boost in the Rachio App using the code
3. Set your rules or adopt our defaults
4. We'll notify you when the forecast matches your rules, and you can accept or decline our recommended schedule adjustments

Set Your Rules Once

Heat Wave Boost monitors the forecast and adjusts your schedule using smart percentage-based calculations

Heat Rule Example

When: Temperature above 95°F for 3+ days
Action: Increase watering by 20%
Result: 30-minute zone becomes 36 minutes

Cool Rule Example

When: Temperature below 65°F for 4+ days
Action: Decrease watering by 15%
Result: 30-minute zone becomes 25.5 minutes

FAQ

Will Heat Wave Boost work with previous generation smart sprinkler controller models?
Yes! Rachio Heat Wave Boost is available for all Rachio Smart Sprinkler Controller models.

How many adjustment rules can I have on my schedules?
Each schedule can have one Heat Rule and one Cool Rule.

How does Heat Wave Boost work with Fixed Schedules?
Heat Wave Boost gives Fixed Schedules the ability to respond dynamically to extreme weather. You’ve already chosen a schedule that works well for you; Heat Wave Boost simply watches the forecast and boosts your scheduled zone runs with supplemental runtime during a heat wave.

How does Heat Wave Boost work with Flex Monthly schedules?
Heat Wave Boost applied to a Flex Monthly schedule gives you industry-leading weather responsiveness in a simple watering schedule. Flex Monthly already adjusts your watering every month to meet anticipated monthly demand, and Heat Wave Boost will allow this reliable schedule to respond dynamically to extreme weather events.

How does Heat Wave Boost work with Flex Daily schedules?
Heat Wave Boost gives Flex Daily schedules additional fine-tuning intelligence, creating the ultimate smart yard weather-driven schedule. Flex Daily is constantly adjusting itself every 6 hours to optimize watering over a weekly time period. It does this by moving watering days forward and backward. As a result, the smallest incremental change Flex Daily can make is one full watering day. Heat Wave Boost allows this schedule to make even smaller incremental changes; adding or reducing watering to meet short-term needs brought on by a few days of hot or cool weather.

How does Rachio determine heat wave and cool wave temperature thresholds?
For Heat Wave Rules, the default settings adjust watering based on 8°F above your area's average July-August high temperature. For Cool Wave Rules, the default settings adjust watering based on 8°F below your area's average "daily mean" July-August high temperature. You can customize these in the settings.

How does Rachio calculate the additional watering time?
By default, Heat Adjustment will add 20% to your normal runtime at the time of the adjustment. This can be customized in the settings.

Do I purchase Heat Wave Boost for an account or a controller?
Heat Wave Boost is purchased per controller. You can purchase individually for any number of your controllers.

Can I purchase this in the Rachio App?
Yes, the same feature is also available for purchase in the Rachio App.

What if I have a Tempest?
Awesome! Heat Wave Boost will work with your Tempest. You get your hyperlocal forecast from your weather station and the option to fine-tune how the system responds to that data.