Key Points
- The top three reasons to buy a smart irrigation system are money, water, and time savings.
- Smart irrigation systems have two basic features, which are control and delivery.
- The best smart irrigation systems have watering zone control and support the integration of weather information.
When watering your garden becomes too much work, opting for a smart irrigation system can help you stay on track. One of the most innovative set-it-and-forget-it smart product options is also one of the easiest ways to save time and money. In today’s ever-changing climate, it’s important to consider how technology can help save our resources for future generations. This article will explore smart irrigation systems, including what they do and how they do it. We’ll also examine why you should consider buying one and which smart irrigation systems are the best.
What Is a Smart Irrigation System?
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, irrigation is the controlled application of water for agricultural purposes. This is accomplished using manmade systems to supply the required amount of water when rain falls short. Gardners and farmers must ensure their crops get suitable amounts of water at the right time. Too little water and crops will wither and die. Too much water and crops will become overly saturated, possibly moldy, and won’t survive. How much water plants need varies by crop, temperature, soil, and overall weather.
While irrigation is an important factor in any garden, it can be challenging and inconvenient to get it right. That’s where smart irrigation systems come into play. A smart irrigation system takes the guesswork out of watering by controlling how much water crops get and when they get it. For example, people who use these innovative irrigation systems can set theirs to turn on when the soil is dry and the weather is warm and sunny. Conversely, you can set smart irrigators to pause watering if the local weather calls for rain. Based on precipitation and temperature, you can also control how much hydration each crop gets on any given day.
Up front, smart irrigation systems may be more expensive when compared to traditional watering. However, they will pay for themselves in about two years when factoring in the savings from less water usage and less time spent watering.
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Two Basic Features of a Smart Irrigation System
Most smart irrigation systems have two essential features. The first is control, or how you manage the system, be it by weather or by soil. The other is delivery, or the type of delivery system, such as sprinklers.
Control
Controlling irrigation systems comes down to two basic types. These two types are weather-based or soil-based.
Weather-based smart irrigation systems depend on local weather information to support watering control. This type of weather control is also called an evapotranspiration or ET system. ET refers to the loss of water evaporation from land. It also refers to the amount of transpiration (or release of water vapor) from plants.
Smart irrigation systems will schedule watering based on an analysis of a combination of local temperature, humidity, and wind.
Smart irrigation systems that are soil-based measure the amount of moisture that is in the ground. The moisture in the soil determines how much water the system dispenses. You can configure specific land areas (for example, your root crops) to get water when dry. Also, you can program the system to turn off once saturation reaches a certain point. By controlling the amount of water by individual crop or garden area, you’ll reduce the amount of water wasted.
Delivery
Smart irrigation systems offer precision hydration. You can choose between four basic types of water delivery: sprinkler, surface, trickle, and subsurface methods.
Sprinkler Delivery
The sprinkler delivery method of smart irrigators acts more like natural rainfall. They distribute water through the air. Users can set sprinklers in a fixed position or move them around as needed.
Surface Delivery
The surface type of smart irrigation delivery refers to the irrigation of crops using gravity. Surface methods of irrigation are some of the world’s oldest. We’ve been using surface irrigation systems for over 6,000 years. With surface delivery, gravity distributes water through irrigation ditches.
Trickle Delivery
The trickle, or drip, delivery method drips small amounts of water onto the soil near the roots of the plants, watering them over time. This method will typically also reduce the amount of water loss due to evaporation.
©SrideeStudio/Shutterstock.com
Subsurface Delivery
The subsurface irrigation method will also save on evaporated water loss. This system is below the surface and delivers water straight to the roots of plants.
Reasons to Buy a Smart Irrigation System Today
There are three main reasons most people buy smart irrigation systems. These factors are all about saving water, time, and money. Let’s look at each in more detail.
1. Save Water
Based on how you use your smart irrigation system, you’re likely to save water. With these intelligent irrigation systems, you control how much and how often you want to water your crops.
Unfortunately, gardeners usually can’t set traditional watering methods to turn on or off based on the environment. Some experts estimate that up to 50% of the water used for irrigation is wasted.
For example, if there’s rain due in the afternoon, your traditional irrigation system will likely still water your crops. Sadly, overwatering will drown your plants. Conversely, if the weather is scorching, you’ll need to manually adjust traditional watering so your crops get enough water and won’t wilt.
This constant cycle of over or underwatering will ultimately waste resources, and you will pay for it through higher water bills and dead crops. Saving water isn’t just beneficial for your crops. It’s also good for the Earth and for future generations.
2. Save Time
Manually watering your garden or constantly monitoring, setting, and resetting your irrigation system wastes time. While traditional irrigation systems operate on your programmed schedule, smart irrigation controls will analyze the weather, soil conditions, and evaporation.
From this analysis, they’ll adjust the watering schedule to meet the needs of each crop. You’ll save time not constantly assessing and reassessing rain and temperatures to figure out how much to water and when.
3. Save Money
The sticker price of a smart irrigation system may make you think twice about buying one. However, while you may pay more upfront, your cost savings will be realized over time. Traditional irrigation methods often use too much water, which equates to wasted money. In addition, you may have oversaturated soil that won’t absorb water anymore due to too much water in too short of a time. A smart irrigation system adjusts the watering time, ensuring less runoff and less water waste. You can adjust smart irrigation systems per zone and crop, which leads to additional savings, as soil moisture sensors will turn the water off or on as needed.
Smart Irrigation System Considerations
Before investing in a smart irrigation system, you may want to keep a few things in mind:
- It’s helpful to think about your landscaping and what type of irrigation you want to use.
- Think about how many different zones you have and the different plant needs. For example, your lettuce will be in a different zone than your potatoes. Each plant type will need different watering conditions.
- Consider your soil type. Soils such as clay will have a larger surface area, allowing the soil to hold more water. Soils with larger sand particles will experience more water runoff. Also, different soil types require different amounts of watering in conjunction with your plant types. For example, succulents are grown in different soil than herbs like basil.
Once you understand your watering needs, it will be easier to choose the best smart irrigation system for you.
The Best Smart Irrigation Systems Today
Our picks for the best irrigation systems share some common features. These systems have zone control, meaning you can use different settings for each crop or zone. Second, they all feature assistant integration, such as Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant. Finally, all of the smart irrigation systems we chose can sync with local weather to ensure accuracy.
Rachio 3 Smart Sprinkler Controller
- Automated scheduling
- Local weather integration
- Control with app
- Supports Alexa
- Quick and easy installation
Our pick for the best smart irrigation system for busy people is the Rachio 3 Smart Sprinkler Controller. This little time saver is great for beginners due to its plug-and-play functionality. However, this system also has enough features to satisfy the most experienced horticulturist. Also, you can choose different versions to program watering covering four, eight, or 16 zones.
Users can enjoy the Weather Intelligence Plus feature that pairs with local forecasting, so you always make sure your plants get the water they need and won’t get over-saturated. The Rachio 3 also integrates with Amazon Alexa, Apple Homekit, Google Assistant, and Samsung Smart Things, making it easy to get your watering done.
Orbit B-hyve XR
- Automatically adjusts to changes in the weather
- Create watering schedules, set duration, and get alerts from the B-hyve app
- Manual watering override button on the controller
- EPA WaterSense certified
- Easy installation
Our pick for the best smart irrigation system for big yards is the Orbit B-hyve XR. This small but mighty system can be easily mounted outside due to its weather-proof covering.
With WeatherSense’s algorithms, you’ll find it convenient to maintain your yard using Amazon Alexa or Google Assist over Wi-Fi. Additionally, you can control the Orbit XR using its app, even when you’re not connected to the internet.
This smart irrigation system will let you choose which weather station it uses for sensor data, meaning you can set it to go on or off based on your local weather data. Also great for windy areas, you can schedule the Orbit B-hyve XR to cancel its irrigation during high winds.
Rain Bird ST8-2.0
Control the hand-held timer via Wi-Fi signal
Watering schedule automatically adjusts for local weather, including temperature and humidity
Offers six different start times per zone
Run times from 0-199 minutes
Compatible with Alexa and Google Assistant
Our pick for the best smart irrigation system for those who appreciate manual controls is the Rain Bird ST8-2.0. The Rain Bird is on our list because it features an easy-to-read LED interface but still connects and works well with Amazon Alexa. The app is also relatively easy to use and understand.
You can set this system to water up to eight different zones. Additionally, the Rain Bird will adjust based on your local seasons, watering less in the cooler months and more when it’s warmer. Some users have noted that the weather adjustments may not be as accurate as other smart irrigators. However, if it senses rain, you can set the Rain Bird to stop watering.
Finally, the Rain Bird has a sensor that can detect leaks in its irrigation system. If it detects something is amiss, it will automatically adjust to turn itself off. An auto-off function means you won’t have to worry about wasted water.
Using A Smart Irrigation System
A smart irrigation system will help streamline your garden, regardless of size. These irrigation systems can adjust to daily and seasonal fluctuations in weather. Also, while you may spend money upfront, you’ll see savings in water, time, and money soon enough.
- $138.90Buy Now
- Automated scheduling
- Local weather integration
- Control with app
- Supports Alexa
- Quick and easy installation
We earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
11/26/2023 11:46 am GMT - $141.96Buy Now
- Automatically adjusts to changes in the weather
- Create watering schedules, set duration, and get alerts from the B-hyve app
- Manual watering override button on the controller
- EPA WaterSense certified
- Easy installation
We earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
11/26/2023 08:20 am GMT - $118.40Buy Now
Control the hand-held timer via Wi-Fi signal
Watering schedule automatically adjusts for local weather, including temperature and humidity
Offers six different start times per zone
Run times from 0-199 minutes
Compatible with Alexa and Google Assistant
We earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
11/26/2023 08:21 am GMT
The image featured at the top of this post is ©mansong suttakarn/Shutterstock.com.
