Pool automation: check the exact equipment and controller

Start with the equipment on your pool pad and the exact controller generation. Ask the installer to confirm each pump, heater, valve and lighting connection. Brand names alone do not establish integrated control.

This comparison covers Jandy iAquaLink, Hayward OmniHub, Pentair IntelliCenter and IntelliConnect. They are researched systems, not SHWF-tested installations.

Voice support depends on model and command

Jandy documents an Alexa skill with equipment commands through its online service. Its Siri Shortcuts route is separate from Apple Home; Apple Home and SmartThings remain unknown. Google is recorded as unavailable.

OmniHub names Alexa without establishing precise equipment controls. Its Google answer remains unknown. Do not borrow OmniLogic or OmniPL support: Hayward’s OmniPL literature limits voice support to W variants.

Pentair’s current app FAQ states no smart home or voice integration. A legacy IntelliCenter skill is not a documented route for the current Pentair Pool app, and does not establish IntelliConnect support.

Home Assistant: check the web-connect device

The official iAquaLink integration names iQ20 and eXO, not the iQ30-A web-connect device in the current kits recorded here. An older supported connection and a new kit are different purchases. Confirm the actual device, panel firmware and integration before ordering an upgrade.

OmniHub’s Home Assistant answer uses the built-in, community-maintained OmniLogic integration and shared cloud. Its documented scope is sensors and switches, without heater or ColorLogic light control. The documentation names OmniLogic rather than OmniHub; that basis should stay visible.

IntelliCenter’s local community integration and IntelliConnect’s cloud community add-on are not endorsed by Pentair or Home Assistant. The official Pentair integration for older IntelliTouch/EasyTouch equipment does not establish these newer routes.

Retrofit does not mean identical capacity

OmniHub is a retrofit option with its own pump and valve limits. IntelliConnect uses two relays and an equipment connection but has no valve-actuator control, so it does not provide pool/spa switching. Do not present it as a smaller full automation panel.

Adding iAquaLink to an existing system depends on the panel’s age and model. Current all-in-one kit contents and an existing-panel upgrade are different costs.

Get an itemised professional quote

Ask for the exact controller, compatible equipment interfaces, web-connect hardware, wiring, installation and required app/account setup. These records do not carry usable manufacturer prices; no installed-cost range is established by this guide.

The records find no required remote-app subscription for these systems. That does not remove cloud dependence or guarantee continued service. Account migrations and app changes can affect an integration without changing the installed hardware.

Use the checker to inspect the exact platform route, then have the pool professional confirm equipment compatibility and safe installation. The pool directory separates controllers from monitors and cleaners.