A smart sprinkler system benefits the lawn, the environment, and your wallet in the following six ways.
- Reduces your water waste
- Saves money on utility bills
- Makes watering easy
- Improves lawn health
- Reduces hardscaping loss
- Avoids overwatering penalties
Smart sprinkler systems are controlled via a smartphone app and adjust watering schedules using real-time weather and soil moisture data.
These automated systems optimize water usage and promote plant health by carefully controlling how and when your landscaping and plants are watered.
1. Improve Water-Use Efficiency and Reduce Water Waste
There’s no denying that the most significant benefit of using a smart sprinkler system is how much water it saves. The smart controller accounts for real-time parameters and only gives the lawn the moisture needed. No more, no less.
Why is this efficiency so important?
Water use numbers across the globe are eye-opening—not in a positive way—and need a significant call to action.
- Approximately 4 trillion cubic meters of freshwater are consumed yearly by three categories: agriculture (~70% utilization), industrial (~20% utilization), and domestic (~10% utilization).
- In the US alone, the average family uses more than 300 gallons of water daily, with nearly one-third of the total residential use—about 9 billion gallons daily—going towards landscape irrigation.
- According to Environmental Protection Agency statistics (regarding American households), “as much as 50 percent of the water we use outdoors is lost due to wind, evaporation, and runoff caused by inefficient irrigation methods and systems.”
These numbers show that a massive amount of water is wasted daily due to shoddy irrigation practices.
Billions of gallons of water, which is a scarce resource in areas, are lost day in and day out. This incredible amount of waste must be slashed if not eliminated.
Smart sprinklers may be the ticket to significantly improving domestic water use in landscape irrigation.
On average, an intelligent controller reduces irrigation amounts between 20 and 50%. Over the lifespan of a lawn, this adds up to significant water savings!
2. Save Money On Utility Bills
Water rates continue to rise at an astounding rate, with one-third of US households currently paying more for water than electricity.
As population growth puts more pressure on limited water resources, demand drives costs up.
Rates also continue to skyrocket as this growth causes a need for infrastructure improvements, which get passed on to homeowners.
A smart sprinkler system reduces water waste, so it can cut a water bill by as much as half, lowering household utility costs significantly.
As homeowners continue to see a rise in utility expenses, this is a huge relief to their wallets.
Most smart sprinkler systems are also certified through the EPA's WaterSense program. This program allows users to qualify for and receive rebates on their utility bills for using a smart controller. Yet another win for the budget!
3. Irrigating Becomes Easy, With Instant Access to Controls
No matter how you look at it, these systems make it considerably easier to water the lawn and adjust settings when and if necessary.
Smart sprinkler systems have evapotranspiration controllers or soil-moisture sensors that continuously track local data.
Based on the weather or how much water the grass can access in the soil, they can intuitively adjust watering schedules to meet the lawn’s needs.
The system does all of the “thinking” and makes the appropriate changes on the fly. Gone are the days of manually shutting the sprinklers off because it rained or reducing water output because of cooler temps.
Beyond that, having complete control of a system through a smartphone app lets homeowners control the system, whether at home in the living room or on a beach in the Caribbean.
They can tweak settings and monitor the schedule if they can access a phone or tablet.
This remote access is also helpful if a landscape contractor monitors and controls the irrigation system for the homeowner. Instead of needing access to the basement or garage, they can pull up the smart control panel on their phone or tablet.
There’s no longer a need to coordinate busy schedules or take time off work to grant a landscaper on-site access to a control panel.
4. Foster Long-Term Grass Health
Unbeknownst to many, overwatering is the number one issue in lawn care and the primary cause of landscaping loss. Some estimates claim US landscapes and lawns are overwatered by 30 to 300 percent!
A smart sprinkler system provides a lawn with the optimal amount of water at the best time.
Overall, this creates much less environmental stress on your grass and improves its health in the long run.
In turn, a stronger, robust lawn can better outcompete other plants for water and nutrients and is equipped to defend itself against threats. You see fewer disease problems, reduced insect infestations, and minimal weed competition.
5. Reduce Hardscape Losses
This benefit is likely one many overlook, but it’s still a welcomed part of having a smart sprinkler.
Hardscapes are the non-living parts of a landscape design, such as patios, rock walls, fire pits, landscape lighting, pergolas, etc. Improving water use with a smart sprinkler helps lengthen the lifespan of these structures and saves money over time.
With conventional sprinkler systems, water is sprayed past the lawn and often hits the hardscape parts of a yard. They also tend to put down way more water than the grass needs.
Increased water use efficiency with a smart sprinkler reduces runoff and can prevent patio concrete and sidewalks from cracking.
Revolutionary systems like Irrigreen digitally map a landscape and print an irrigation plan. Irrigation water only lands on the softscaping (grass, plants, etc.) elements instead of the hardscaping, minimizing degradation from water.
6. Avoid Penalties For Overwatering
Lastly, a smart sprinkler system makes it easy to follow watering guidelines and regulations set in place by homeowners’ associations or local municipalities.
In some areas, especially those under drought conditions, pretty hefty fines can be incurred for overwatering or watering on the wrong day of the week.
With a smart system, watering days can be programmed to follow a designated schedule, and the improved water-use efficiency guarantees the lawn isn’t overwater.
It’s a simple solution for staying out of hot water with the neighborhood HOA.
