What Is A Smart Sprinkler Irrigation Controller?
A smart sprinkler controller is a device that automatically adjusts your irrigation system's schedule and operating time in response to the specific needs of your garden.
These devices will change for you to control the watering time for the plants to best suit the landscape. These tools are smart in that they can optimize irrigation system performance by monitoring specific weather conditions in real time.
Recordable weather indicators such as wind speed, relative humidity, rainfall, solar radiation, and temperature will be processed and calculated, from which the smart controller will control the irrigation system.
Water automatically gives the most suitable amount of water for the needs of the plants.
Not only that, but the parameters of your garden are also automatically considered to optimize irrigation operations. Properties such as vegetation type, soil quality, shade ratio, soil slope, and types of sprinklers are all processed by the software to give the best results regarding the amount of water to be used.
Many smart sprinkler control products are equipped with a wireless network connection function that allows you to update weather forecast information, thereby adjusting the operation of sprinklers. In strong winds or a forecast of upcoming icy weather, irrigation will be automatic to save maximum water use and protect crops. In addition, several other accompanying smart devices such as flow meters, soil moisture sensors, or water catchers are also very useful for fine-tuning the operation of the irrigation system for the best.
Because plants are only provided with the right amount of water to meet the needs of biochemical processes and transpiration and are suitable for the living environment, your garden plants will always be in a healthy state best at a minimal cost.
Why Should You Use The Smart Sprinkler Irrigation Controller?
You don't always have enough time to take care of your garden, especially with the hectic pace of life in today's society.
Moreover, it is not easy for many amateur bonsai growers to determine the number of water plants needed to provide the best growth. Therefore, a smart sprinkler controller will be a great assistant allowing your garden to be well cared for most reasonably.
The smart sprinkler controller is a modern and convenient way to systematize and automate the entire irrigation operation in your garden. You will no longer have to worry about watering your plants whenever the weather changes or when you are busy and do not have time to take care of the plants.
In addition, most of today's smart sprinkler control devices can be controlled remotely through companion applications integrated with them. Therefore, adjusting the amount of water in your garden will be much easier and more convenient than using a traditional sprinkler controller.
Saving is the biggest advantage that a smart sprinkler control tool gives you. Water loss is minimal when plants are only the amount of water that best suits their needs and local weather conditions. In just a short time of installing and using a smart sprinkler controller, you will be pleased with a big change in your water bill.
According to statistics from experts, a smart irrigation controller can save your home an average of 7,600 gallons of water per year. If all homes in the United States were with this system, the annual water savings would amount to 120 billion gallons, equivalent to about $435 million.
And this makes even more sense if you live in an area where the cost of living water is expensive or if you are likely to face water shortages in the future.
Best Smart Irrigation Sprinkler Controllers Buying Guides
Does your garden have a sprinkler system?
Many smart sprinkler control products can be compatible with existing sprinklers in your garden or other commercially available tools. However, many devices are only suitable for specialized hose and pipe systems with separate motorized water supply valves.
Therefore, if your home already has an irrigation water supply system, you need to consider it carefully before upgrading to a smart sprinkler controller. You should consult an expert to have the most reasonable plan to build or renovate the landscape.
On-device controls:
With the wide variety of smart sprinkler control products on the market today, choosing a device with buttons that allow for onboard adjustments is more beneficial than a product that can only be through software adjustment. This tool will enable you to make adjustments directly without using your phone or tablet when out in the garden.
It is especially useful when you need to give control of the device to different people or when you have problems with the Internet or firmware.
Indoor or outdoor installation:
If you need to use a smart sprinkler irrigation controller to take care of your indoor garden, it's very simple, and you can refer to the Aeon Matrix Yardian Pro Smart Sprinkler Controller. However, when you use it for an outdoor garden, the weather resistance factor of the product will be of great concern.
Many intelligent sprinkler irrigation control products have high water resistance, heat resistance, and good durability, ensuring prolonged outdoor use. However, physical and chemical factors from the external environment will wear down your device and cause unnecessary damage. So to increase the life of the device, you should invest in an extra cover to make the system more weather resistant.
Zones:
Area in irrigation terminology refers to a unit area that can be controlled by a pipe and a separate sprinkler valve. If your system has 5 valves, your garden has 5 corresponding zones.
When choosing a smart sprinkler irrigation controller, you need to consider buying a product with enough capacity to supply water to all areas where it needs to be available. If your garden is very large, products that can guarantee multiple-use places like the Orbit 57995 B-hyve XR Smart will be for you.
Flexible scheduling capabilities:
Not every day you want to water your garden, especially when you have outdoor parties. The need to set up complex schedules will lead you to be careful in choosing a controller that allows handling those options.
Notify
Many smart sprinkler controllers have the function of sending you notifications when they start working. It will be a more useful feature than products that only notify you after they have finished watering. You can use the remote control function to stop watering if you have an unexpected schedule to go to the garden that day and don't want to work in a wet space.
Smart planning
To optimize the water supply of your plants, the smart planning feature of the controller based on the weather parameters is something to watch out for.
If it is likely to rain in the coming days, then stopping watering to save money will be a perfect choice. Or when it's possible to snow, preventing the water supply will protect the plants in the garden. A smart sprinkler irrigation control product with the ability to collect and process weather data, such as Netro Smart Sprinkler Controller, will give you peace of mind about taking care of your garden landscape.
Since devices with the weather forecast feature need to be provided with a wireless network to work properly, you also need to ensure that you have an Internet connection.
If network connections fail, weather information will be disrupted, and your device will not be able to use its full power to provide you with the most satisfying experience.
Compatibility
For the smart sprinkler control product to be truly optimized, it must be compatible with technology devices and controlled by software on your computer or phone.
Want to turn on your garden watering system through your voice? Then a product that can connect to smart home systems such as Google Assistant, Apple HomeKit, or Amazon Alexa and be synchronous will satisfy you.
In this area, you can refer to Eve Aqua; this product allows you to connect to Apple HomeKit Smart Home through Eve app to adjust it easily and conveniently.
How Do We Test Smart Sprinkler Controllers?
Smart sprinkler controls need to be able to control the amount of water for irrigation and need to be based on the current state of the garden to help you determine the right configuration of your water supply.
A high-quality intelligent sprinkler control product needs to go through many stages of testing.
Experts have collected data on humidity and rainfall from specialized measuring equipment to evaluate the accuracy of smart sprinkler control products' operation in practice. The amount of water that the controller uses to supply the plants with more or less than the actual needs will indicate its performance.
The water efficiency of this tool is assessed against EPA requirements, and if qualified, they will be WaterSense certified, such as the Orbit 57946-B. In addition, the connectivity and compatibility of the product are assessed by the way it is controlled on an application that can operate on iOS or Android operating systems.
These products also require advanced optional features if the Internet is temporarily disconnected. The ability to notify about incidents and methods to handle temporary situations will be a plus point to improve product quality.
FAQs
What are the pros and cons of a smart sprinkler controller?
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Advantages: easy to install and use, save water, automate irrigation operations, save time and effort to take care of the garden landscape.
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Disadvantage: it can only be used for underground irrigation systems equipped with a wired controller but cannot work with tubular timers or battery-operated controllers.
Is the smart irrigation controller worth it?
Have. The time, effort, and money saved when using the product will satisfy you, especially when you have large gardens that need to be taken care of.
How much water does the smart irrigation controller save?
Many experts, through practical research, have found that smart irrigation control products can help reduce the amount of water used by up to 20% compared with traditional control devices. This amount of water is significant, especially for areas at risk of water shortages or high clean water costs.
Can I control the sprinkler from my phone?
Thanks to the linking feature with phones and tablets or other technology devices of many smart irrigation control products today, you can completely control the amount of water used for your garden with just a few touches. This simplicity and convenience will help you save time, effort, and money and still have a nice green garden.
Is it easy to replace the sprinkler controller?
If the old product is damaged, you can remove it and replace it with a new one with just a few simple wiring and tools. Once the new device is in the system, the watering schedule is easily reprogrammed, and you can rest assured about your garden.
Is it waterproof?
Depends on the product. Many smart sprinkler controllers are not with a waterproof cover, which is easy to damage, especially when you need to use them outdoors. To extend the life of the device, you can install them in a covered place or use a specialized protective tool.
Conclusion
Smart sprinkler irrigation control tools are essential to keep your garden in the best state while saving money, time, and effort. If you have any questions about the products, leave a comment so we can contact you and answer your questions.
