Smart home enthusiasts’ favorite Shelly has taken the covers off a new smart water leak sensor, with the Flood S Gen4 landing with Matter support, Wi-Fi and Zigbee connectivity, and a design built to spot even small amounts of water.
Priced at $27.99, the compact, battery-powered sensor is designed for the places where leaks are most likely to go unnoticed; whether that’s underneath a washing machine, below a sink or tucked behind a toilet.
Rather than using the small metal pins that are found on many water sensors, the Flood S Gen4 has three large stainless steel contact pads running across its underside.
The idea is to give water more surface area to make contact with, allowing the sensor to pick up small drops and leaks, including clean or low-conductivity water such as air conditioning condensation.
The Flood S Gen4 has both Zigbee and Matter (over Wi-Fi) connectivity and Home Assistant users can also just add it locally without having to pair through Matter or Zigbee.
However, going down the Matter path opens up cross-platform connectivity through the likes of Alexa, Apple Home, SmartThings and pretty much any other smart home ecosystem.
When water is detected, the sensor can sound its built-in alarm while also sending a notification to your smartphone and it can also be used outside for rain detection.
Using whatever smart home platform you prefer (or indeed the Shelly app) you could also set up automations to respond when a leak is detected. Think cutting power to appliances such as a washing machine or dishwasher, or having a smart water shut-off valve stopping the flow of water at your source.
It offers three alarm profiles, dubbed intense, normal and economic, letting you prioritize quicker detection or longer battery life.
The Flood S Gen4 runs on an included CR123A battery, which Shelly says can keep it operating for up to two years.
It is available in the US now, priced at $27.99, through Shelly and authorized distribution partners.
Over the past few years, Shelly has quietly turned from an enthusiast/nerd-only brand into one that is much more accessible, allowing regular folk with just a bit of tech savviness to create building blocks that are capable of turning a dumb house into a modern smart home.
Read more about Shelly in my guide to making your dumb home smart.