Smart Irrigation Month

 The weather here in the Midwest has been like a wild roller-coaster ride the last few weeks. We seem to have gotten out of the severe thunderstorm pattern and arrived at HOT and dry. We have certainly had some weather that made having a smart controller or a rain shut-off device a very wise investment.


July is just a couple days away and it is typically a high water use month. The Irrigation Association has deemed July "Smart Irrigation Month". We all want you to have a green grass and all the wonderful benefits that come along with having healthy turf-grass, but we want you to be smart water consumers.
This from the Irrigation Association:

Automatic sprinklers offer convenience and control in protecting your landscape investment. Irrigation systems help you to enjoy your yard, and to keep it healthy and beautiful. However, most homeowners tend to over water their lawn or waste water through inefficient habits. Adopting water-savvy habits is essential to maintaining and extending your community's water supply, especially during peak use.
The key to efficient outdoor irrigation is applying just enough water and only when necessary. Water-wise habits will result in a healthier lawn and landscape, in addition to conserving water. Plus, reducing your consumption will help reduce your water bill.

 How can you be a smart water consumer? Here are a few pointers.

Inspect your sprinkler on a regular basis. Check for leaks, broken or clogged heads, and other problems, Clean drip-irrigation filters as needed. Don't assume that a sprinkler serviced in April will not need any repairs for the entire season - mowers, cars and kids can quickly misalign and damage heads. Be aware of any wet areas or run-off in and around your property.

Adjust sprinkler heads. Correct obstructions that prevent sprinklers from distributing water evenly. Plants and grasses grow very quickly and can block or clog heads. Keep water off pavement and structures (they don't grow!)

Consider a Smart controller or install a rain-sensor. If you missed learning about Smart Controllers back in April, here is a link to the blog entry (http://jensensprinkler.blogspot.com/2010/04/smart-controllers.html) and we talked about rain sensors in March (http://jensensprinkler.blogspot.com/2010/03/rain-sensors-or-rain-shut-off-devices.html). Each of these devices will pay for themselves in water savings.

Water at the optimum time. Water when the sun is low or down, winds are calm and temperatures are cool - between the evening and early morning - to reduce evaporation. You can lose as much as 30% of water to evaporation by watering mid-day. We recommend completing your water cycle before the sun rises.

Don't over water. Watering too much and too frequently results in shallow roots, weed growth, disease and fungus. Water just enough to keep your grass green. The appearance of your lawn will tell you it is time to water if you are not watering enough. The leaves will begin to wilt/curl and develop a bluish cast. It will recover quickly once water is applied. Try not to wait until your grass is browning out to apply water. The point here is to find a happy medium.


Hopefully this will give you a starting point for being a smart water consumer.  If you are unsure if your sprinkler is running at peak efficiency, have it checked by a professional.

Have a super week!
Keep it green!

Smart Controllers

Do you think much about your sprinkler controller or do you just set it and forget it? If you are thinking about upgrading your sprinkler controller in the near future, you should consider a "smart" controller.

What makes a controller a "smart" controller? Traditional sprinkler timers require manual adjustments every time the weather changes. “Smart” controllers automatically adjust the watering schedule based on local weather/site conditions. So, once the initial setup and monitoring is complete, there’s no need to reset the timer. The “smart” controller makes adjustments automatically.

I had my first instruction on the new Rain Bird® ESP-SMT Smart Control System back in March. I was amazed at the number of different settings required to set the controller. (Thinking perhaps I wasn't smart enough to program a smart controller!) All these initial intricate settings in regard to slope, sun/shade, soil and grass type in connection with the mini-weather station create ideal watering situations custom designed for your yard. The controller will increase or decrease the amount of water applied as your yard requires.

This is truly amazing technology. No more adjusting controller watering times up in July and back down in September. No more watering when it is raining or over-watering in shady zones and under watering in sunny ones. Controllers up to this point have been mostly a "one size fits all" technology. These new controllers are like having your suits and shoes custom cut to fit you. Precisely programmed to meet the needs of your custom landscape.

Studies from the Irrigation Association show that

"A “smart” controller saves you money by reducing your water use. Your actual water savings will depend on how you have watered in the past. Pilot studies have shown typical water savings to be in the range of 20%-40% annually.

“Smart” controllers also save money by providing a healthier landscape, since a landscape that is properly watered will be less likely to suffer from fungal disease and insect infestations that can require costly treatments, thereby protecting your landscape investment."

I am sure  you are pondering is cost. Are they more expensive? Of course they are. Currently "smart" controllers are about $300 more than a normal controller box. Are they worth it? It depends on your yard, your lifestyle and the cost of water in your area. Honestly, I wouldn't recommend them for everyone.  If you are like me, and love to have the latest and greatest technology you need to check these out. If you travel extensively and aren't available to adapt your controller settings as the watering season progresses, this might be a good idea for you. If you have an extensive landscape with many varieties of plants, grasses and soils, this is right up your alley. If you live in a place where the cost of water is very high and getting worse every season a "smart" controller upgrade will pay for itself in a short amount of time.

Bottom line, "smart" controllers are a smart move for some people. For the rest, the smartest thing you can do to save money and water, is to install a rain-shut-off device on your current controller. It is simple, inexpensive and effective.

Have a super week!

Rain Sensors or Rain Shut-Off Devices

The weather this week looks delightful for early spring. Sunny days and above average temperatures. You can almost hear the sigh of relief from the entire Midwest.

In the forecast for the weekend is the possibility of thunderstorms. Now that the threat of flooding as receded we could use a good rain to just wash away all the dirt and muck left behind from the snow melt.

Rain is almost always a good thing, it does complicate our job as it creates delays, but God is always more effective at a good watering than anything man can try to design. What is not a good thing is running your irrigation system while it is raining or when adequate rainfall has occurred. Water is our most precious natural resource, we need to be certain we are not being wasteful. Water use regulations are increasing in every state. We have not seen many restrictions in our area, but I can guarantee it will reach here within the next few years.

As a home owner, what can you do? Can you have a sprinkler and be a responsible steward of the water we have available? Yes, you can. The easiest and least expensive change you can make to your sprinkler system is the installation of a rain shut-off device.

Your sprinkler controller is set to run on specific days and times. It does not know if it is sunny or rainy or if we had thunderstorms yesterday that dumped 3" of rain in the area, it just knows that is it suppose to run. A rain sensor determines whether or not enough rainfall has occurred in order to skip an irrigation cycle. How? The electrical connection between the sensor and your sprinkler system controller is interrupted when a certain amount of rain triggers the device. The sensor breaks the electrical connection so that electricity cannot flow to either the sprinkler valves.

At Jensen Sprinkler we install a wireless rain sensor that utilizes a cork disk, or expansion device, to determine when to shut off the system. This device uses a pressure switch to break the electrical connection. These can be adjusted in increments of ¼" to the desired rain fall setting. This adjustment is usually set to turn off the sprinklers after ¼" of rain has fallen. When the water evaporates and the disk shrinks, the pressure is released from the switch, the electrical connection is restored and the controller will run on the next scheduled cycle.

The best part about a rain shut-off, besides saving water, is that you don't have to remember to turn the sprinkler on or off with the changing weather patterns, the device does the regulating.

If you do not have a rain sensor, we recommend you have one installed, it will pay for itself in water savings within two seasons. Besides, conserving water is the right thing to do!

Have a super week! Enjoy the sunshine!