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SonarGuard: Integrated Pool Control That Makes Sense

SonarGuard is "the only swimming pool security system in the world that can integrate with home automation."
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Upon an alarm event, the Crestron panel reverts to the SonarGuard screen, and annunciators scream, “Child in pool!”

If a client is installing a fancy home-control system, why would they skimp on security for their swimming pool?

That’s the idea behind the SonarGuard (booth No. 5643) pool security system, “the only swimming pool security system in the world that can integrate with home automation,” according to spokesperson Corinne Zemla.

SonarGuard has three elements: a command station (with battery back-up), remote keypad that can be used to program standby time, horns and sirens, and underwater transducers.

The transducers emit sound waves, looking for a change in the density of the water. “If it encounters the air volume of one-year-old lungs (the standard in pool safety), the system will reflect that,” Zemla says.

The sensors are wired to the command station, which can integrate with third-party controllers via relay and RS-485 communications. Drivers are available today for Crestron controllers. Users can set standby times — during pool maintenance or swimming events — from any touchscreen in the house.

“We love SonarGuard,” says Mark Ontiveros, president of Audio Images, an integration firm based in Tustin, Calif. “It is the only thing that works well and is reliable.”

Audio Images programs their Crestron touchpanels to revert to the SonarGuard screen upon an alarm event.

The event also triggers annunciators around the premises via the home’s security panel, alerting (very loudly) “Child in pool!” until the system is disarmed.

Zemla distinguishes between SonarGuard and the standalone, battery-operated “over-the-side” pool alarms.

“A lot of them have a remote siren, but they don’t integrate,” she says. “You could put an auto-dialer on it but at that point you’re wasting time. There is only a small window of time.”

Speaking of time, you lose a precious amount of it with cheap consumer pool alarms, Zemla says. Those products detect changes in water pressure. “You have to wait until the pressure hits the sensor,” she explains. “Ours responds instantly.”

For larger bodies of water, whether in the backyard or a resort, SonarGuard adds an extra layer of protection by supporting sensor zones. Emergency personnel can pinpoint the area of an accident to respond as quickly as possible.

SonarGuard is installed primarily by pool builders, with the final hook-up performed by authorized SonarGuard dealers. The company has targeted architects and aquatic designers in the past, and is now looking to the CE pro channel to specify the system.

“When they’re putting in their [integration] proposal, what we would ideally like is for them to offer security for the swimming pool and bring us into the project,” Zemla says.

The installed cost of SonarGuard starts at about $7,500 for a “typical” backyard pool.

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Article Topics

News · Business Resources · Home Automation and Control · Control Systems · CEDIA · Home Automation · All topics

About the Author

Julie Jacobson, Editor-at-large, CE Pro
As a co-founder of EH Publishing in 1994, Julie has edited and contributed to all of the company's publications at one time or another. An authority on home automation, networking, integration, digital convergence and the CE pro channel, Julie speaks often about these subjects at industry events. She graduated with a B.A. in Economics from the University of Michigan, and received an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin. Julie is a washed-up Ultimate Frisbee player.

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