Pool Automation: Pentair IntelliCenter Install

If your project is a pool and spa combination, we put Pentair IntelliCenter on it as a matter of course. Once you add a spa, you have added valves, a heater that has to serve two bodies of water at two different temperatures, and jets. Running all of that by hand means walking out to the pad and turning things yourself, twice, every time you want a soak.

Automation is what turns that into pressing a button before you leave work.

Standard on Every Pool and Spa Combo We Build

A spa is the reason automation stops being a luxury. The heater has to know whether it is heating the pool or the spa. The valves have to move. The jets have to come on. Without a controller, that is you, outside, in the dark, in October.

With IntelliCenter you set a spa mode once. After that it is one button: the valves turn, the heater fires, the jets start, and the spa is ready by the time you have changed. That is why we install it on combos by default rather than selling it as an upgrade later.

Run the Pool From Your Phone

IntelliCenter runs from the Pentair Pool app on your phone, and from a color touchscreen at the house or the pad. Same system, whichever you reach for.

The practical version: you are on the way home and you start the spa. You are on vacation and you check that the pump is actually running. You are in bed and you realize the lights are on, so you turn them off without going outside. It also lets us look at the system remotely when something is off, which means a lot of questions get answered without a truck roll.

What It Actually Controls

IntelliCenter is expandable, so what it runs depends on what is sitting on your pad. On a typical build here it handles the pump speeds, keeping the pump slow and quiet most of the day and faster only when it needs to be. It handles heat, holding separate temperatures for the pool and the spa so each gets what it should. It moves the valves for the pool to spa changeover, which is the job you would otherwise be walking outside to do by hand.

Past that it runs your lights, including color lights and scenes, and your waterfall or bubblers, either on a schedule or on a button. If you have salt chlorine generation, it runs that too.

It comes in several sizes based on how many circuits you need. We size it to your build rather than selling you the biggest one on the shelf.

We Wire It Ourselves

Automation is electrical work. The panel has to be wired correctly, the valve actuators have to be set, and every circuit has to be bonded and to code. We do our own electrical, so the same company that built the pool wired the controller and programmed it.

Before we leave, we set it up with you on your phone and walk you through it until it makes sense. A controller nobody knows how to use is just an expensive box on a wall.

We standardize on Pentair, which is why the automation, the heater and the pump all talk to each other instead of fighting for space on the pad.

Equipment We Install

All indicated Pentair trademarks and logos are property of Pentair. Coverstar is a trademark of Latham Pool Products, Inc. All other brand names and logos are the property of their respective owners. Hydroscape Pools & Landscape Construction is an independent contractor and is not an agent of, or affiliated with, these manufacturers.

Proudly Providing Services Throughout the Mid-Atlantic United States

From building a brand-new pool to keeping an older one in great shape, we offer a full range of pool and outdoor living services across the Mid-Atlantic. One team handles all of it, start to finish.

Inground Pool Design & Installation

Custom inground pools built in fiberglass or concrete, designed around your yard and how your family wants to use it. We handle the design, the permits, and the full build with our own crew.

Spa/Hot Tub

Inground spas, spillover spas built right into your pool, and standalone hot tubs, with the jets, heating, and controls to match.

Pool Renovation

Is your older pool looking tired? We handle resurfacing, new tile and coping, deck updates, and equipment upgrades to bring it back to life.

Pool Heating

Gas heat to stretch your season into April and October, or a heat pump to hold temperature through the summer for less money to run. We install Pentair, and we run the gas line and the electrical ourselves.

Pool Automation & Smart Controls

Pentair IntelliCenter, standard on every pool and spa combination we build. Start the spa, run the lights and check the pump from your phone instead of walking out to the pad in the dark.

Pool Water Features

Natural stone waterfalls and waterfall and slide combinations from Advanced Waterfall Systems, plus spillover spas and bubblers on a tanning ledge.

Automatic Safety Covers

Coverstar automatic safety covers, built to meet ASTM F1346. One button closes the pool, which is the whole reason an automatic cover actually gets used.

Pool Equipment Repair

Pumps, filters, heaters, salt systems, and automation. We diagnose, repair, and replace the equipment that keeps your pool running right.

Pool Maintenance & Protection

Keep your pool clean, balanced, and ready to swim, with regular care plus seasonal openings and closings handled by our own team.

Landscape & Outdoor Living

Patios, walkways, plantings, and complete outdoor living areas that turn the space around your pool into a backyard you actually want to spend time in.

Outdoor Kitchen Installation

Built-in grills, bars, countertops, and full outdoor kitchens, with the gas and electrical handled in-house.

Pergolas & Shade Structures

Pergolas, pavilions, and shade structures that keep your patio and pool comfortable all summer.

Patio & Hardscape Construction

Patios, pool decks, walkways, retaining walls, and fire features, built to last.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I Need Pool Automation?

If you have a pool and spa combination, we would say yes, and we install it on combos by default. The spa is the reason: without a controller you are manually turning valves and waiting on the heater every single time. If you have a simple pool with no spa and no water features, automation is a convenience rather than a necessity. We will tell you which one you are.

What Is Pentair IntelliCenter?

It is Pentair’s control system for a pool and spa. It ties the pump, heater, valves, lights, water features and sanitizer into one system you run from a touchscreen or the Pentair Pool app on your phone. It is expandable, so equipment you add later can be brought onto the same controller.

Can I Add IntelliCenter to a Pool I Already Have?

Usually. It depends on what is on your pad now and how it is wired. Pentair also makes an upgrade kit for some older Pentair controllers, which can make the swap cleaner. If your equipment is a mix of brands and ages, we will look at it and give you a straight answer about what has to change and what can stay.

Does It Work if the Internet Goes Down?

Yes. The phone app needs a connection, but the controller itself is running the pool on its own schedule at the pad. Losing Wi-Fi means you lose the remote control, not the pump.

Will It Work With Equipment That Is Not Pentair?

Some of it, some of the time. Automation is the place where mixing brands causes the most grief, and it is a big part of why we standardize on Pentair. If you have another brand on the pad already, tell us what it is and we will tell you honestly whether it plays nicely or whether you are better off changing it.

Do You Set It Up and Show Me How to Use It?

Yes. We program it, connect it to your phone, and walk you through it before we leave. If you forget it six weeks later, call us. We would rather answer the phone than have you not use what you paid for.

Pool Automation & Smart Controls in PA, NJ, DE & Northern Virginia

Get An Instant Price Estimate

We Respond Within 24 Hours