SMART Technology
What is a smart irrigation system? Traditional irrigation systems use timers to determine when and for how long the system will run. Unless manually adjusted, these systems do not account for changes in weather beyond simple rain sensors. Smart systems use ever-evolving technology such as onsite weather stations, regional weather data, and zone-specific soil typing to automatically adjust your irrigation system for optimum watering efficiency. Smart irrigation systems typically use less water than traditional systems, while maintaining a healthier turf. With a WiFi Link added to the controller, your system can even be monitored and controlled from anywhere right on your smart phone.
The metric used to determine how much water your plant material requires is called Evapotranspiration or ET. In inches, it determines how much moisture is lost from the soil through the combination of evaporation and transpiration, also known as plant consumption. The average daily ET for our area during the irrigation season is .16 inches/day.
The goal of an efficient Smart irrigation system is to replace only the amount of soil moisture lost through evapotranspiration. After programming the specific environmental factors (sunny vs. shady, slope of terrain, soil composition) for each individual zone, the system’s control unit then uses weather data collection and computer models to determine the exact ET for each irrigation zone and how to best replenish it. The result is an annual water savings of 20-40% over traditional systems.
Evolution Weather Sensor |
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Interested in retrofitting your irrigation system with a smart control unit? Give us a call today!
