After a long period of analysis, testing and weighing up the risks, we have placed an order for motorised water control valves from China, directly with the original manufacturer.
It is just the unknown and sheer distance involved with this venture that is the risk but we had our goals and we wanted to realise them without having to pay a very high price for a similar device sourced in UK or even Europe. China has now proved themselves to be a reliable source of material and devices, or they wouldn’t be where they are now. We have paid about £13 a valve against £35 locally.
So we have spent nearly $1400 (plus $600 for shipping) on a set of water stop valves that can be controlled by a computer. We love the idea of automation and we always dreamed of having a smart house and hence this is an investment towards that goal. We had bought a sample valve from China a couple of weeks ago and analysed it, tested it and it all seems good and solid. So we are now having well over a hundred motorised valves coming, most of them are 15mm bore size but a couple will be the larger 25mm bore for the main water pipes we have laid out in the house.