Tag: Irrigation

Irrigation Audits – Fact Based Irrigation Management

Posted on by gogreen


Properly done irrigation audits (in compliance with standards recommended with the Irrigation Association) collect numerous data a great irrigation system. While all of this data provide insight concerning the status from the irrigation system, you will discover two dimensions or information of especially high importance inside an irrigation audit. Each one of these information are determined within an irrigation valve or station level and be a consequence of the amount of water collected in each catch can.

One of these brilliant dimensions inside an irrigation audit is distribution uniformity or DU. Essentially, DU is only a value that signifies how evenly or unevenly water can be used for the landscape. Unevenly distributed water results in either wet spots or dry spots. However, this is not always visually apparent and so the DU might be the methods through which this problem are available.

The second of individuals irrigation audit dimensions is precipitation rate. This value measures the amount of water applied per unit of your energy that is usually calculated in inches hourly or centimeters hourly. As stated inside an earlier article, it is essential that the size of the problem cans are the same. This could make certain that the great, solid precipitation rate can be discovered. While confirmed station could have a handful of dozen catch cans, the precipitation rate calculated is essentially the normal precipitation rate for the entire station.

The value of the precipitation rate inside an irrigation audit is at how a precipitation rate comes even close to the type of soil that water is distributed around. How quickly water is distributed around the ground would depend about the type of soil. Some soils readily consume water while other styles absorb water a lot more progressively.

Once the precipitation rates are calculated for that station and also the type of soil is known for your same station, the irrigation audit will condition the your clients how that certain station irrigation needs to be setup to make sure that water can be used in a way that allows it absorb into the soil. Unsure this may result in a station flowing water too extended for your soil to consider and water simply puddling or running off initially. That’s wasted water.

However, some soils require a longer sustained utilization of water to have the ability to sufficiently penetrate the soil surface and get the primary zone in the grass or shrubbery. Not carrying this out is an additional, but less apparent, way water is wasted. Water can be used but instead than running off it gets into the soil but that is it. It does not attain the best goal in the plant roots.

An irrigation audit tries to remove as much subjectivity and uncertainty as you can in organizing an irrigation system. Taking a chance might be the most popular method that irrigation agendas are often setup. However, a very done irrigation audit comes with an opportunity for particulars to dictate an irrigation schedule instead of vague recommendations.

Irrigation Management Tools – What Is Better? Central Control Irrigation or Smart Controllers?

Posted on by gogreen

The elements within the Tigard area remains more April than This summer. Earlier this Sunday, This summer 17th, the slight possibility of showers within the weather forecast converted into a multi-hour rain event that eventually totaled over one-half inch of rain fall. The reality is that very couple of irrigation remotes in the area modified accordingly for your night’s watering. Rather they went as though it hadn’t rained whatsoever since it would require an on-site visit by anyone to really reduce and sometimes turn off irrigation agendas. That rarely happens as well as on Sunday it doesn’t happen whatsoever. How about them new fangled wise remotes? You realize those that receive some form of weather data that changes the irrigation run occasions with no personal visit? Well, they perfectly might have modified properly. However, how are you aware?

Have there been any issues with the communication of stated weather data?

Was the elements databases recording the elements correctly or whatsoever?

May be the wise controller within the right mode to include the elements data or was it accidentally set to operate in standalone?

The end result is you don’t know with one of these wise remotes for a few reasons. First, there’s no communication option (outdoors of the spendy upgrade) that enables a person to make contact with the wise controller to evaluate its status. Still it needs an on-site visit to achieve that. Second, there’s not a way to retrieve any type of saved data inside the controller to make a are accountable to review.

Now a rain fall event such as this past Sunday is really a clearcut illustration of the way a controller that’s accessible via telephone, wi-fi, cellular, etc. is really a vital a part of effective irrigation management. Whether from the website or perhaps a central computer, an irrigation manager can make sure that the irrigation is shut lower because of this type of rain fall amount. That’s tremendous satisfaction for that irrigation manager along with a huge water savings for that house owner. This really is exactly the same at a lower price dramatic weather changes just like a week’s price of scorching warm weather then a weekend of mostly cloudy weather. Again, the irrigation manager can make sure that the elements information is recorded correctly, sent correctly and watered correctly…without going to the controller personally.

Wise remotes do none of the. Now wise remotes really are a part of the best direction when in comparison to traditional remotes. However, they’re woefully incomplete. There’s not a way to retrieve data, produce reviews, check up on communication links, make programming corrections or find out if the irrigation controller really has electrical energy and it is running irrigation agendas. In comparison, central control irrigation systems provide many of these management benefits. Whether it’s using a website or software loaded onto a desktop or laptop, an irrigation manager can check up on the remotes with no site visit. The technology is designed for these central control irrigation systems. Why be satisfied with an incomplete solution?

Save Water On A Landscape Combining Smart Controllers and Good Irrigation Management

Posted on by gogreen


Showing a great, positive image is essential to the business, as well as an attractive, healthy landscape certainly helps the way the public sights an industrial property. However, maintaining an excellent landscape isn’t cheap since sufficient water must be applied through the irrigation system to maintain the grass, bushes and flowers healthy and vibrant. This is exactly why setting up wise irrigation remotes might help. These products provide a terrific way to reduce irrigation water use, simplify landscape maintenance, and a landscape searching great.

Wise remotes lessen water use by collecting and using details about site conditions (like rain, wind, slope, soil, plant type, and much more), and using a lot of water depending on individuals factors to keep healthy growing conditions. Throughout warm weather plants require more water than throughout cooler weather. Wise remotes adjust the quantity of water used depending on these altering conditions. If enough rain fall happens, rain sensors adjust by reducing the amount of water when needed. When the soil is of the type that soaks up water gradually or even the landscape has steep slopes, wise remotes uses that information and run less water, but more often, to reduce water run-off.

An important indicate bear in mind with these sorts of irrigation remotes is when these products are designed. All the variables (e.g., soil type) modify the final period of time water will run. Changes towards the initial programming must be done to have it right, the industry few good management. Actually multiple tweaks are essential because this whole process is because a skill because it is a science. To put it simply this human factor is an essential variable within the programming process.

To be able to get the most from a wise irrigation controller:

Inspect the Irrigation System: Wise remotes perform best once the entire irrigation product is working well. This kind of inspection will look for leaks, proper water pressure, deterioration hardware, along with other similar problems that might affect the potency of the entire irrigation system. Repairing problems such as these will make sure the controller has the capacity to supply the expected water savings.

Make use of a Professional: These remotes are usually only accessible through irrigation or landscape companies rather than retail shops. The Irrigation Association (the umbrella organization for irrigation producers, companies and providers) has put together a listing of experts who are licensed to set up “wise” irrigation remotes. To find an Irrigation Association licensed professional, in order to read the status associated with a irrigation contractor in your town, please consult this listing of Licensed Professionals.

Using the right mixture of hardware, programming and on the job management, these kinds of irrigation remotes will give you long-term, ongoing water savings.