Sunday, February 3, 2013

ET Irrigation Controllers and Managers










We all have a shared responsibility to use our potable water intelligently when it comes to irrigation.  The need to conserve water has never been greater and more of us are looking at ways to maximize our irrigation systems and conserve water.  The only way to combat ET is with accurate, up to date weather information that is communicated to your irrigation controller.  ET, evapotranspiration, is water lost to the atmosphere as a combined result of plant transpiration and evaporation from the soil.  ET is affected by solar radiation, wind speed, air temperature and relative humidity.

Imbalance of moisture occurs when there is a disparity between water lost (ET) and water gained (rainfall / irrigation) and since the majority of irrigation controllers are time based, this leads to over-watering and wasteful use of our precious resource, water.  “Smart” controllers rely on the data you provide for each watering zone, including geographical positioning (North, East, South, and West), the type of vegetation (trees, shrubs, groundcovers, annuals) along maturation of vegetation, and soil type.  Once this data has been downloaded, the ET controller manages when and how much / often water needs to be applied.  This formula promotes healthy plants and eliminating over-watering; no more watering when it is raining, below freezing, and forgetting to seasonally adjust your timed controller.

There are a wide variety of smart controllers including ET Manager Series, a powerful management solution that works with virtually any existing controller, converting a conventional irrigation system into a weather-smart, accurate, real-time weather, water conserving system.

ET Manager Systems operate differently than the ET Smart Controller as it receives weather updates hourly from a weather signal provider. As the weather changes, your ET Manager driven controller will apply water only when needed, maintaining the optimum moisture balance in your soil, deeper root systems and a healthier landscape.

There are many regions that contain by-laws and tax credits that all new landscape irrigation must by ET controller based, making this the new standard in weather-smart irrigation.  ET controllers and ET Managers are smart and responsible in water conservation and provide peace of mind in knowing you can irrigate correctly as the water scarcity continues to deepen. 

Now is the time to water intelligently.