A smart irrigation system runs from $3500 to $5500 for average residential installations. The cost depends on numerous factors, including complexity, lawn size, number of watering zones, and installation costs.
Installing a smart sprinkler system—or upgrading your conventional system—is a sound investment. Using less water to keep your lawn looking beautiful is a great sustainable solution, and it also cuts down significantly on your utility bills.
However, it comes with a slightly higher up-front cost than traditional systems because of the smart controller and the technology that improves water use efficiency.
What Factors Affect the Cost of A Smart Sprinkler System?
The Project Complexity
The first significant factor impacting the incurred cost is the project’s scope.
Are you installing an entire system from the ground up? Or are you switching out a standard controller for a smart controller?
Obviously, installing an entire system comes with a much larger price tag than simply purchasing a smart controller to upgrade existing sprinklers.
As mentioned above, purchasing an entire system runs the average residential homeowner $3500 to $5500 installed. This figure is based on the average residential lot size of one-quarter acre, with at least five watering zones.
The cost of upgrading the sprinkler controller is considerably cheaper. Depending upon the manufacturer and the product’s capabilities, an electronically controlled smart controller typically costs between $60 and $300.
The Size of the Lawn
The installed system size is the second factor impacting the final cost of a smart sprinkler system.
There’s no getting around the fact that a larger yard requires more supplies to irrigate the grass. The standard residential lot—about 10,000 square feet—will use far fewer materials than a lawn several acres in size. As the yard increases, it needs more piping for the supply line and sprinkler heads, which bumps up the supply costs.
Costs aren’t linear to yard size, though. The sprinkler cost per square foot typically decreases as the yard size increases. You can expect to pay $0.50 to $2.00 per square foot; yards with complex installations are at the higher end of the price range.
Number of Watering Zones
First, a single zone is an area where a single sprinkler head can water. Depending on the spray pattern, this can range from 200 to 2,000 square feet.
A zone is also a specific area requiring the same amount of water but differs from neighboring zones. For instance, you’d want a different zone for your lawn than a flower bed or garden. So, these areas qualify as separate zones, even small ones.
It’s easy to understand that the more watering zones needed, the greater the sprinkler system cost. The number of zones required in a yard, however, is related to more than the size of the lawn itself.
How many watering zones a yard needs depends on the size of the property, the water pressure available, the types of plants, and any soil variations. So, flowerbeds need to be watered differently than grass, and a steeply sloped section needs to be watered differently than a low-lying spot that holds soil moisture.
Installation Considerations & How They Affect Cost
Lastly, are you hiring a professional to install your smart sprinkler system or taking this on as a DIY project?
Doing the work yourself will significantly cut down on labor costs. Of course, if you bring in some friends or family to help, you’ll likely need to spend money on food and beverages. This cost, though, will be a fraction of professional labor.
When contracting out the installation, a significant portion of the labor costs is the construction needed to excavate or trench where the supply lines run. The bigger the property and the larger the sprinkler system, the more expensive the labor.
Also, if your yard has a lot of mature trees and roots, underground rocks, or other obstacles to work around, your labor cost will climb quickly.
Other factors also affect installation costs: soil type, permit prices, regional price differences, plumbing requirements, and local labor costs.
- If you live in an area with difficult soil conditions, the cost of digging trenches for an in-ground system may be higher.
- If you need to obtain a permit for your sprinkler system, the cost and guidelines may vary depending on your municipality. Sprinkler system permits cost $35 to $200.
- In some parts of the country, sprinkler systems can be installed any time of year, but in others, narrow windows create competition for installation services. Installation can also cost more in climates that freeze in the winter.
- Some municipalities may require sprinkler companies to hire a licensed plumbing contractor to connect the system to the water main.
- If you live in an expensive area with a high cost of living, the local cost of living may drive up labor prices.
How Much Does An Irrigreen Smart Sprinkler System Cost?
Like other sprinkler systems, pricing for an Irrigreen system depends on the size of your yard and the number of sprinkler heads needed to water the entire thing.
One of the helpful things about Irrigreen is the online quote tool that allows you to pull up a satellite image of your yard and quickly parse out an estimate. With a few keystrokes and some mouse clicks, you can create a rough outline of your yard and determine how many zones and sprinkler heads you need. Then, you can estimate the cost.
For reference, you can purchase a “large” bundle on the website containing a smart controller, six heads, and the necessary cables starting at $3658. This system replaces up to ten traditional sprinkler heads and is geared toward medium to large-sized residential yards (up to 12,000 square feet).
Costs run from $500 to $1000 per zone for a standard sprinkler system, putting the cost of an Irrigreeen system at a highly competitive and affordable price.
For lawns needing more than six heads, individual heads run $278, and the cable $50. Each additional head is expected to give you 2,000 square feet of coverage.
Get Started on Your Water- (and Money-) Saving Adventure!
If you’re interested in a quote or want to talk to a member of our sales team, reach out! We’ll help answer your questions and get you on a sustainable, money-saving path to a beautiful, water-wise yard.
