Rianni has enabled Alexa for its tankless water heater so it’s now possible to control the unit with just your voice after issuing any of the supported commands. Though the list of options won’t necessarily be as extensive as some smart home products in different categories, as there’s only so much a water heater can do, the Alexa integration allows for everything you might want to have voice control for, like asking Alexa to begin circulation. If you’re getting ready to hop in the shower you’ll need hot water for that, and Alexa is equipped to handle that too. In total there are also over twenty different commands that will work, so the list of functions isn’t short either.
While Alexa integration allows for hands-free control of the water heater while inside the house it’s also possible to control things remotely when away using the Control R 2.0 application on a smartphone or tablet, which is needed to pair with the Control R 2.0 module tankless water heater should the consumer want any of the advanced functionality, such as viewing and managing built-in timers and schedules for turning the water heater on and off, or just putting it into vacation mode if the owner is planning to be away for a longer period of time.
Rianni says the interface on the water heater has been improved and that it’s more user-friendly than on previous modules, and being more user-friendly likely means owners will have less of a hassle (if any at all) interacting with it. To get Alexa integration users will need to have the Control R 2.0 Module, though there are other modules available that will still be able to connect to the mobile app and enable smart commands through the app itself. Naturally, it’s also still possible to control things from the unit itself manually, should owners prefer this method of control.