You nailed it with the “more complicated, more points of failure” bit. I’ve lost count of the times I’ve been called out because someone’s “smart” valve wouldn’t shut off when it mattered. Give me a good old-fashioned ball valve and a clear path to it any day. I always tell folks: know where your main is, and make sure it actually turns. The rest is just gravy.
I get where you’re coming from, but I’ll admit the “smart” valves saved my bacon once when I was out of town. Got a notification about a leak, shut it off from my phone. Not perfect tech, but for some of us, the peace of mind is worth it… even if I still check my manual shutoff every few months.
I get the appeal of smart valves, especially for remote monitoring, but I’ve seen them fail too—usually when WiFi drops or the app glitches. For my rentals, I stick with mechanical auto-shutoff valves. They’re not as fancy, but less to go wrong. Every six months, I do a quick walk-through: check for corrosion, test the manual shutoff, and make sure nothing’s seized up. It’s not foolproof, but at least I’m not relying on an app update to keep water out of the basement.
