Setting the pool heater is just a tap away with a smartphone

It’s no secret that Long Beach Island is one of the best places to spend the dog days of summer. But residents and visitors of the area also know that the cooler weather during the fall season presents its own special outdoor experience, especially if it includes relaxing in a heated pool.

With Pentair’s ScreenLogic interface now offered at Hutchison Fiberglass Pools and Spa in Surf City, the convenience of setting the pool heater to the perfect temperature is just a tap away with a smartphone. The plug-in system allows users with an Apple or Android phone to control a pool’s functions and other outdoor systems from anywhere in the world.

Photo via Hutchison Pools
A pool in Beach Haven is heated up before
vacationers even arrive at the home.

“Anything you want to have outside – pool or garden lights, outdoor speakers – you wire it up to this box and it’s controlled on your iPhone,” said Joe Hutchison, owner of Hutchison Pools. “It’s basically the same system people have in their homes to control their TVs and their lights and everything, only it’s for a pool.”

Hutchison decided to offer the product to customers after seeing it featured at the Pool and Spa Show in Atlantic City in January. Although the product came out a few years ago, he said “it really blew up this year.” It’s especially useful for seasonal homeowners who’d like to have their pool heated up by the time they arrive for a weekend visit, or if residents are coming back from vacation or even just from the store.

“Instead of people who are on their way down and want their heater turned on calling us to do it, now they can do it themselves. So it gives them more control over their system,” Hutchison said. “You can program it to come on and do whatever you want at any time.”

The easy-to-use technology is great for making sure everything’s turned off when rushing out the door, he added. The interface also offers peace of mind since it can be used to make sure everything’s working properly. The program can even check the salt level of the pool, though pool chemicals cannot be monitored.

Email and text message alerts are immediately sent out if there’s a problem so it can be taken care of right away. Hutchison staff work up and down LBI every day and can immediately respond to issues. The company monitors about 200 pools weekly throughout the season.

Using the ScreenLogic interface requires having Pentair’s EasyTouch automation system, which Hutchison’s has been installing in the area for 10 years. The full Pentair package costs about $2,500 altogether and comes with a complete three-year warranty, Hutchison noted.

About 20 to 25 of the plug-ins have been installed by Hutchinson’s this season, and the local business expects to sell more in the future.

“Everybody who has it loves it,” Hutchison stated, noting he and his son, Joey, who also works for the company, both have the systems installed at their homes.

Hutchison said he loves the convenience of operating it by phone instead of through a remote control that requires batteries, which is also an available option.

“You have your phone on you at all times, so it’s nice to be outside when you’re having a big party and just go on your phone and change colors and do stuff like that,” he said. “I even have the remote, and I just don’t use it anymore. It’s all through my iPhone.”

For more information, visit hutchisonfiberglasspools.com or call 609-361-0202.

— Kelley Anne Essinger

This article was published in HomeFront.