Pool automation
Also called: automation controller, pool control system, OmniLogic, IntelliCenter, AquaLink.
Pool automation is the controller that schedules and runs the equipment pad from one system: pumps, heater, lights, valves and water features. Pentair, Jandy and Hayward each run their own equipment over a proprietary RS-485 bus, so the automation platform you pick quietly picks the rest of the pad.
Why it matters
Same-brand equipment gets variable-speed scheduling, colour syncing on lights and in-app diagnostics. Another brand's equipment falls back to a Smart Relay that can only cut power on and off. Choose the controller first and buy its brand's pump. If you mix, mix the parts with no wires: filter safest, pump worst. Pick the tier by counting every device you want controlled, because relay count is the specification that actually constrains you. One exception: Hayward sells a converter board that gives its Omni controllers full variable-speed control of up to three Pentair pumps. Pentair's EasyTouch and IntelliTouch are end-of-life, so decline them on a new build.
In numbers
On raw capacity the flagships differ: Pentair's IntelliCenter scales to 40 relays against 20 for Hayward's OmniLogic, while OmniLogic handles 4 separate bodies of water.