Pool Automation
Pool Automation — Weston Lakes, TX
Smarter Pool. More Pool Days.
There are six different ways to automate a pool, and most homeowners only need two or three of them. This page walks through all six honestly — what each one does, who it’s right for, and who it isn’t right for.
Straight Talk First
What Automation Does — and Doesn’t — Do
What we will tell you
- Automation handles the repetitive work. People handle the judgment.
- Most existing pools can be automated without rebuilding the pool.
- You may use less pump electricity — potentially a lot less.
- Some upgrades are convenience decisions, not savings decisions.
- We’ll tell you when a package isn’t worth it for your pool.
What we will never claim
- A maintenance-free pool. There’s no such thing.
- You’ll never test your water again.
- Automation means you don’t need a pool professional.
- A guaranteed percentage off your utility bill.
- A saltwater pool is a chlorine-free pool. It isn’t.
Our philosophy: close the gap between owning a pool and managing one. Automation reduces intervention — it does not eliminate responsible pool care.
The Architecture
Three Layers of a Smart Pool
“Pool automation” gets used to mean three different things. Knowing which layer you’re buying is the difference between a good upgrade and an expensive dead end.
Each piece of equipment is smart on its own
The individual unit performs its own function intelligently, without a central brain telling it what to do. This is where most homeowners start, and for many pools it’s all they ever need.
- Inverter pump maintaining configured flow
- Heater / chiller holding water temperature
- Robotic cleaner on a schedule
- Salt system producing chlorine
- Intelligent lighting
- Equipment monitoring
Start here if you have a straightforward pool, no spa, and one or two things you’re tired of doing by hand. A smart pump alone changes the daily experience more than most people expect.
One controller coordinates several systems together
A central controller doesn’t just switch things on — it sequences them. Valves reposition, the pump adjusts its flow to match, the heater engages, lights come up. One action, many pieces of equipment.
- Pump
- Heater / chiller
- Valves
- Pool & spa modes
- Lights
- Water features
- Sanitizer
- Chemistry
- Cleaners
You need this layer if you have a pool and spa, multiple automated valves, water features, or several lighting zones. You do not need it just to run a smart pump.
Automation still needs people — and you should be able to see the work
Sensors drift. Filters load up. Cells scale. Equipment fails in ways no controller predicts. This layer is what separates an automated pool that stays healthy from one that quietly goes wrong.
What we do in person
- Professional configuration
- Equipment inspection
- Water verification
- Maintenance
- Repairs
- Chemical replenishment
- Physical cleaning where needed
- Diagnostics
What you see in your portal
- Technician worklogs
- Chemistry readings
- Service history
- Installed equipment
- Warranties
- Subscriptions
- Invoices
- Email notifications
This is the part most companies skip. Automation without oversight just means problems go unnoticed for longer. Every AquaLit automation customer gets the visibility layer — you can see what we did, what we measured, and when.
Try It — Drag the Filter Slider
Why We Sell Flow, Not Speed
Most companies sell you a pump speed. The problem is that your pool doesn’t care about speed — it cares about how much water actually moves through the filter. And that changes every single day as your filter loads up with debris.
Old single-speed pump
One setting: maximum
Moving far more water than needed, at full power.
Moov MP2AI in Auto-Inverter mode
Target flow: 50 GPM
Holding target. Running gently — plenty of headroom left.
Illustrative model, not a measurement of your pool. It shows the behaviour the pump manual describes — in Auto-Inverter mode the MP2AI detects system pressure and adjusts motor speed to reach the configured flow, and performs self-learning to establish its usable hydraulic range for your specific pool. Actual flow, power draw and headroom depend on your plumbing, filter and pool size, which we measure during the assessment.
The Six Packages
Pick the Work You Want to Stop Doing
These are categories, not a ladder — you don’t have to buy them in order, and you almost certainly don’t need all six. Tap any package for the full detail, including who it isn’t right for.
We automate your pool, not your equipment brand. We design around your pool, your goals, your existing equipment and your budget — not around one manufacturer’s catalogue.
Where Should You Start?
Four Questions, an Honest Answer
Answer these and we’ll show you which packages actually make sense for your situation — and which ones to skip for now. Nothing is submitted anywhere; this runs entirely in your browser.
The question that matters most
Do you ultimately want all of your pool equipment controlled through one central system?
We ask this before installing any major equipment. Answering it early prevents buying into an architecture you’ll want to replace in three years.
What bothers you most right now?
What does your backyard have?
Who looks after it today?
Our recommendation
Answer the questions above to see a suggested starting point.
Automated Water Care, In Detail
Two Honest Paths to Automated Chemistry
This is the most misunderstood category in the pool industry, so it’s worth being precise. Automatic chlorination is not the same as chemical automation. A tablet feeder automatically feeds chlorine. A salt system automatically creates chlorine. Neither one knows whether your pool currently needs more. True chemistry automation uses sensors and a controller to decide when correction is required.
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1Existing tablet feederAn inline chlorinator such as a Pentair 320 drips chlorine in as water passes through.Semi-automatic delivery — but it has no idea whether chlorine demand is high or low today.
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2Smart monitoringAdd sensors for pH, sanitizer activity (ORP), temperature and other supported readings.Now you can see what’s happening — but a person or technician still makes the adjustments.
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3Automated liquid chlorineLiquid chlorine tank plus a feed pump, under controller command.The controller decides when sanitizer correction is needed and doses. This is where real chemistry automation begins.
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4Automated chlorine + pHLiquid chlorine tank and dosing pump, plus a muriatic acid tank and second dosing pump.Automation now handles the two adjustments that matter most day to day.
You do not have to convert to salt to automate your chemistry. This surprises most homeowners. A conventional chlorine pool can be fully dosed and pH-corrected automatically.
Central Automation
Three Controller Pathways
If you want one brain for the pool, the controller choice locks in what you can add later. This is the decision worth slowing down for — and the one we’d rather you make before you replace major equipment, not after.
Poolside Tech Attendant
Our leading candidate for mixed-brand and high-end installations
Poolside publishes integrations across a wide range of manufacturers, which makes it the strongest option when your equipment pad isn’t all one brand.
- Moov AI pumps — documented via the communication cable included with the pump, over RS-485
- Moov inverter heat pumps
- Pentair and Jandy equipment
- Many other brands
- Salt systems, lights, covers
- Generic high-voltage equipment
Pentair IntelliCenter
Best when you already own — or specifically want — Pentair
Pentair describes IntelliCenter as a centralized, expandable platform controlling multiple devices. If Pentair is already dominant on your pad, working within it usually beats replacing it.
- Central management of pumps
- Heaters and valves
- Lights and water features
- Chemistry within its configuration architecture
Jandy AquaLink
Best when the property is already Jandy-heavy
If everything out there is Jandy and replacing the automation architecture creates no meaningful benefit, we’ll work within AquaLink rather than sell you a rip-and-replace.
- Filtration and sanitation
- Cleaning and water features
- Pool and spa temperatures
- Valves and lighting
- One-touch macros and scenes
Total Pool Automation
Build the Whole System
Combine packages and we’ll quote it as one designed system rather than a stack of separate jobs. Tick what interests you — this is a planning tool, not an order form.
Nothing selected
Start by ticking a package
Most homeowners land on two or three. All six together is the premium outcome — one intelligently managed pool system, designed around the way you actually use your backyard.
Combined systems are custom quoted after an on-site assessment. Smart Circulation on its own is $2,199 installed.
Get this quotedAlso Worth Knowing About
Add-On Automation
These don’t need their own package, but they’re often the cheapest way to remove a specific annoyance.
Smart water level / autofill
Automated level monitoring and refill — less standing there with a hose, and protection against running low. If your pool always seems to be losing water, this is usually the first thing to look at.
Smart lighting
Standalone smart fixtures, timed, app-controlled, centrally integrated, or built into scenes. We do specialty lighting work, so there’s usually more possible here than homeowners expect.
Valve automation
Motorised actuators turn manually operated valves into controlled ones — pool/spa switching, waterfalls, spillovers, solar, alternate returns.
Pool covers
Central integration where the cover supports it, so it becomes part of a scene rather than a separate switch.
Swim jets & counter-current
More recreation than maintenance automation — but it fits naturally into a premium smart-backyard build.
Equipment monitoring & alerts
Catch a struggling pump, a possible leak or drifting chemistry sooner. Fewer surprises, fewer emergency repairs.
Two Kinds of Pool Owner
Where Automation Fits Your Situation
You look after the pool yourself
Do less. Know more. Automation won’t replace everything you do — it removes the parts you’d never choose to do. Testing and dosing, vacuuming, remembering to set the pump, wondering whether the heater’s on, and the nagging sense that the electric bill is higher than it needs to be.
Best starting points: Smart Circulation, then Automated Cleaning.
You already pay for pool service
Smarter equipment makes professional service more effective. We’re not going to suggest you fire your technician — we are your technician. What automation changes is what that visit is for. The robot cleans between visits, the pump runs intelligently all week, chemistry responds when nobody’s there, and equipment alerts catch issues sooner.
The professional becomes oversight and expertise instead of repetitive labour.
Questions
Automation, Answered
Free Automation Assessment
Let’s Look at Your Actual Pool
We’ll walk your equipment pad, ask the central-automation question, and tell you which of the six packages are worth it for your pool — and which aren’t. No obligation, no pressure, and an honest answer even when it’s “leave it alone for now.”
Call or text for a free automation assessment(832) 299-5570Serving Weston Lakes, Katy, Fulshear, Richmond and the greater Houston area.
Let's talk about your pool
Call or text for a free automation assessment.