I was at Home Depot and saw a Rain Bird (the sprinkler folks) brochure which allows you to sketch out your property and write in things like your water pressure, water meter size and mail it in and Rain Bird mails back a detailed computer drawn plan with suggested components such as valves and sprinklers. Nice, but I thought the process could be digitized and sure enough they have here complete with a Youtube instructional video below
But driving back in the middle of a rainstorm, I saw a few sprinklers continue to go, and I said surely they could be made smarter. Well, Rain Bird has several innovations. Its ESP-SMT irrigation controller utilizes historical and real-time weather data (you input your zip code, allowed watering days and a few other data points) to determine optimum watering needs of the landscape based on the on-site current weather conditions. About the size of a shoebox, the controller mounts in a garage or on an outside wall, and uses temperature and rainfall data as recorded by its weather sensor to calculate the site’s evapotranspiration (ET) rate each day. The controller then deducts effective rainfall amounts from the ET rate to determine how much water is needed to maintain the optimum level of moisture in the soil. Its Soil Moisture Sensor Kit (SMRT-Y) connects to an existing irrigation controller to better manage the watering needs of a lawn and garden by providing instantaneous access to current soil moisture levels. Its WR2 Wireless Rain and Freeze Sensor measures rainfall and the onset of frigid temperatures to prevent unnecessary watering, saving water and improving overall sprinkler system efficiency. The WR2 Wireless Rain and Freeze Sensor transmits weather data back to the irrigation controller every 45 seconds, enabling real-time responsiveness to changing environmental conditions.
The timers themselves allow for controls on individual zones – some up to 48 zones, and some come with remote controls. All in all, pretty impressive.
Comments