hometech
Douglas Stall of Antietam Tree & Turf installs an irrigation system, which, thanks to new mini weather station technology, can adjust watering needs to changes in the weather.
Let Tech Decide When to Water
WEATHER-TRACKING SENSORS ENSURE IRRIGATION SYSTEMS WORK IN SYNC WITH WIND, SUN AND RAIN.
BY JEFFREY B. ROTH + PHOTO BY SETH FREEMAN
As spring dawns and lawns and plants are coming back to life, many homeowners know that warm weather means hours of yard work, often involving dragging a hose or watering can from lawn to garden to flowerbed to shrubbery. The Maryland Department of the Environment estimates 40 percent of household water use is outside and, let’ s be honest, we’ re often unsure how much water is enough for each area of the landscape— particularly when the weather is changeable.
Opting for a smart automated sprinkler system can remove that guess work, helping maintain healthier lawns, planting beds, shrubbery and trees, and potentially saving homeowners up to 30 percent in water costs, notes Joe Horvath, co-owner of Hydro-Tech Irrigation of Frederick. These labor- and water-saving systems go above and beyond an automated on / off timer.“ Automatic sprinklers with timers have been around since the early 1980s,” says Antietam Tree & Turf Vice President Randy Finn.“ Now there are wireless systems; GPS satellite-controlled systems; systems hooked up to a laptop or computer; and systems hooked up to a smart home.” Irrigation systems now pair watersaving sprayer heads with technology that incorporates rain and moisture sensors, solar-synchronized mini weather stations that make daily, automatic adjustments to the amount of time the irrigation system operates; and stand-alone control stations that can be programmed manually or set on automatic.
An on-site mini weather station can be added to a system for as little as $ 150, Joe says, pointing to the“ unique water-saving devices” of Hydro-Tech’ s preferred Hunter brand systems.“ The Hunter Solar Sync is pretty simplistic, but does as good a job as an industrial weather station,” Joe says.“ There are GPS systems, but they involve a monthly maintenance fee. [ And ] if the site is in Frederick, but GPS pulls data from Urbana, you’ re not getting as exact data as you would from a mini weather station on-site.”
The Solar-Sync on-site weather station, so named because it constantly tracks the sun’ s location through all seasons, continually gathers solar and temperature data used to calculate evapotranspiration( ET)— water that’ s lost through evaporation from the ground and as a part of the plant’ s natural water loss through its leaves— and then determines watering requirements. The system includes a rain sensor that has a“ quick response” feature that adjusts automatically during a soaking rain shower to prevent unnecessary watering. As temperatures drop and solar radiation decreases, it seasonally adjusts the controller.
The mini weather station combines a rain sensor, temperature sensor to automatically stop watering when the weather is near freezing, and a third sensor that will shut off sprinklers during periods of high wind— automatically resetting the system when conditions are more favorable. With all those bells and whistles, you might just end up with a watering system that’ s smarter and more efficient than even the most dedicated weatherwatching gardener! §
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