Are you smarter than your irrigation system?
If you’re still dragging hoses and sprinklers around or dashing out to the garage to turn off your irrigation system when it starts raining, you both could be smarter.
No offense - and there’s really good news here if you upgrade to a smart irrigation controller.
Why get a smart irrigation controller? They save water and money. They’re super convenient. (No more running out to the garage.) They help your lawn and landscaping thrive. They’re great for the environment.
Let’s learn more about modern sprinkler systems.
It’s easy to take water for granted.
There it is, always ready when we need it, flowing from our faucets and spraying out over our thirsty lawns.
Too bad we’re wasting a lot of it in our Idaho Falls irrigation, for no good reason.
Experts at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimate as much as 50 percent of water used for landscape irrigation is wasted.
Hoses and sprinklers spray water all over the place — not just where it’s needed. We forget to turn our sprinklers off, so they chug away for hours, or water in the rain. Outdated sprinkler heads spray up to four times more water than your landscaping really needs.
That’s a lot of wasted water — and money. Smart irrigation systems put a stop to all that.
Smart irrigation controllers don’t turn on and off based solely on a timer. They tell your system when to turn on and off. They hone in on local weather forecasts and your exact landscape conditions, so the watering schedule is precisely right for your landscape. They pull local weather forecasts, skipping irrigation after rain or reducing it on cool days.
Smart irrigation controllers will automatically skip or temporarily postpone watering based on triggers we can set, such as wind speed and temperature.
Rainfall yesterday? A smart irrigation controller will automatically skip today’s watering cycle. And no more realizing your Idaho Falls sprinklers are spraying away during a rainstorm. Smart irrigation systems check in with local weather stations. If rain is in the forecast, it will hold off on watering, knowing nature will do it for you.
Freeze sensors are pretty impressive, too. They won’t allow your smart irrigation system to water if the temperature is too cold.
That means you don’t have to worry about your watering schedule — the smart controller is on top of it.
The result? You use as little water as possible while your landscape thrives.
Need to adjust something? No need to trek out to the garage.
With smart irrigation controllers, you can handle it all from your phone, tablet, or computer. Set up and adjust your Idaho Falls sprinklers from anywhere, anytime.
Your smart irrigation controller works in partnership with strategically placed, water-saving sprinkler heads to precisely water your lawn and landscaping with much less water waste than an outdated sprinkler system.
When Outback Landscape irrigation experts install a smart irrigation system, we place each sprinkler head for a specific reason. From the spacing to the type of nozzles, everything is custom-designed for the area, so it just sprays the amount of water necessary, but no more than necessary.
High-efficiency rotator sprinkler heads are water-saving wonders, using much less water and water pressure than traditional fan-shaped sprinkler heads. While a typical 10-foot fan nozzle uses 4 or more gallons of water per minute, a high-efficiency rotator uses just 1/2 gallon per minute.
If some areas of your property need more water than others — new landscaping or a freshly seeded lawn — smart sprinkler systems can be adjusted to provide water only to those areas, preventing unnecessary waste.
Older lawn sprinkler heads also spray very small droplets, almost a mist. Mist hardly weighs anything, so even a slight breeze can blow the water off course, away from areas it’s supposed to be watering.
Advanced rotary-style sprinkler heads deliver water in larger droplets, which fall faster, ending up where they’re supposed to go.
How can you tell if your irrigation system isn’t working properly? Smart irrigation systems tell you — and us— when something goes wrong.
Give your Idaho Falls irrigation service remote access, and we can fix some irrigation problems right from our office. That means we can shut down your system in an emergency or make needed adjustments instantly, so you don’t always have to wait for technicians to make the physical trip to your property.
If a part breaks or a zone doesn’t start up, we receive a notification. Then, our irrigation techs can jump right on it — before your landscape dries out or water spews for hours or days from a broken line.
Precise watering means healthy, thriving plants.
You don’t have to worry about your lawn and landscaping getting too little water or too much water.
Too little water causes wilting and stunted growth. Too much water encourages fungal diseases and root rot.
The right amount of consistent watering also encourages plants’ roots to grow deeper, creating stronger, healthier plants that are better able to withstand stress.
Modern sprinkler systems also let you tailor watering to specific zones. Maybe some plants need more water than others. Everything in your landscaping can get the exact amount of water it needs.
You care about the health and beauty of your own backyard, but the greater environment is important to you, too.
Using less water is an obvious boost to the environment, but a smart sprinkler system offers other benefits to the earth, too:
The cost to install a new sprinkler system from scratch ranges from $4,500 to $10,000 for a typical residential property.
Sometimes you don’t need to start from scratch. Maybe you have a sprinkler system, but it’s outdated.
The cost to replace an existing Idaho Falls sprinkler system, including updated heads, valves, and a new WiFi controller, ranges from $3,500 to $7,500.
If you just need to upgrade to a smart irrigation controller, plan to spend up to $1,250 to upgrade the controller on an existing system, including labor and programming to get you all set up and ready to relax.
Lots of companies offer Bluetooth irrigation controllers, including Rain Bird, Rachio, Orbit, and Wyze.
The best controllers are certified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency with a WaterSense label.
To earn the WaterSense label, irrigation controllers are independently certified to meet specific WaterSense criteria for efficiency and performance.
Here at Outback Landscape, we recommend and use Hunter Hydrawise, known for integrating technology with water efficiency, for its durability and good warranty.
Bonus: it can be expanded using an add-on module to cover more irrigation zones, from four to as many as 32. More available zones means it can be used on larger properties without needing multiple clocks. It’s also handy if you decide to expand your irrigation system later.
Yes, they absolutely are. It’s easy to add up the reasons:
At Outback Landscape, we’re irrigation experts. That means we stay on top of the latest technology designed to use water effectively and efficiently, using as little of this precious resource as possible.
We can expertly install a new smart irrigation system for you, or retrofit your current sprinkler system with updated, money-saving features.
Beyond the tech, we know which plants will look great in your landscape and need little water. We can set you up with high-quality, attractive mulch that helps retain moisture in your planting beds, so you have to water less.
We can conduct an irrigation audit to see where you can save water.
We’d love to be your partner in water conservation.
Located in Idaho Falls, Idaho, we serve residential and commercial properties in Idaho Falls, Rexburg, and Pocatello, Idaho, as well as Bonneville, Madison, and Bannock counties, and Jackson Hole, WY. Call us at 208-656-3220, or fill out the form here to schedule an on-site consultation.