What is a Smart Watering System?

A smart irrigation system is an irrigation system that takes weather or soil conditions into account when determining the watering process. This means that irrigation is optimized for the specific irrigated area, thus saving water and optimizing crop or plant growth.

The main functions of a smart irrigation system

Smart irrigation is most easily defined by having a smart watering controller. These devices measure local air temperature or soil moisture and adjust watering schedules based on that and other needs entered by the user.

A key feature of these systems is variable watering or spraying schedules. Smart irrigation is a method of precisely controlling the water needs of a large farm, saving both money and water in the long run. More importantly, the system's increased accuracy allows you to ensure that your plants are always at the correct moisture level, which means a better growth cycle for them.

Additionally, as with most, if not all, smart systems on the market today, you can pair your smart watering system with a smartphone or tablet for an extra level of control. This allows you to change settings while working with a simple app, as well as receive notifications and constantly updated information about your lawn or garden directly to the device of your choice.

This range of control allows you to control the specific watering patterns and needs of individual garden areas, and smart irrigation systems in general provide a level of control that is changing the rules of the watering world.

How does a smart watering system work?

As we mentioned above, the main component of these systems is a smart watering controller. These controllers are advanced sensors that, depending on the temperature or soil moisture level, determine the required watering intensity of the system and are the basis of the entire irrigation system .

Meteorological controllers are also called evapotranspiration controllers because of the way they work. Based on the expected evaporation and transpiration of the system, these controllers receive information about the weather to know how often they should water the garden or lawn.

There are 3 main types of weather controllers, they are divided according to the method by which they collect information:

Signal-based controllers receive information from a public source that sends it wirelessly to the controller.

• Historical controls take into account historical water consumption in a specific region and operate according to these averages.
• Local controllers calculate the temperature using their sensors and react to the specific temperature of the area.
• Soil controllers rely on soil moisture sensors. The sensor is placed in the garden at the level of the roots and continuously determines the volumetric amount of water. This means how much water is currently in the soil.

Based on this data, the owner and the system can choose the appropriate water limit. When the volume of water falls below this limit, the system understands that it is necessary to start watering again.