SMART CONTROLLERS
This may very well be a new term you have yet to be familiar with. The Metropolitan water districts of both Orange County and San Diego County have designated January 2010 to be the date ALL residential customers MUST HAVE a smart controller installed on their sprinkler system. The good news is: the water districts are offering handsome rebates for the controllers and also for replacing the sprinkler heads or "rotors". They are saying "Receive money back when your upgrade to "smart" technology that fully automates landscape watering based on the weather and the water needs of your landscape". By 2010, this will be mandatory. (January, 2010 has come & gone. Are
you paying more for your water? Do you realize, 80% of your water bill is from the outside yard area, especially if you have typical grassy areas or tropical plantings).
Weathermatic has by far one of the best residential smart controllers around, in my opinion. I have been certified by the water districts of both counties to install and then program these new smart controllers. Each system has a simple user interface, so I am able to select from a menu to select soil, plant and rotors to create the ideal watering situation for your landscape. The system's sensor array includes solar radiation, relative humidity, temperature, a rain gauge that tracks precipitation, plus an optional anemometer for wind speed. The ET, which is an evapotransiration system stops wasteful irrigation after naturally occurring rainfall and automatically resumes sprinkler operation when the conditions return to a dry landscape situation. All environmental elements are taken into account. By attending the Landscape Industry Shows each year, I continue to learn about new
products and new engineering details of the newest controllers.
The smart timers I have selected to represent have the wind meters available, which have a significant bearing on the information required for the timer to run optimally. Each residential customer will begin to save 20-24% immediately and over the course of several watering seasons, your savings can reach upward to 40% annually on your water bill. When I install your controller, my obligation to you is to manually program the controller of your choice initially. I will manage your paper work through the various water districts. I will also monitor your system not just once but several times over the course of 2 months. Once a year I will be back to make sure all is in proper working order and to make sure you continue to save money on your system. I have programmed these controllers and certainly welcome you to watch, as I program, so that you are able to change the controller too. There are customers that prefer to learn and then are welcome to mange it on their own without being dependant upon me.
News Update:
A significant amount of California's fresh water goes toward irrigating landscapes. Our state's population has increased to the point where demand is exceeding our existing water supplies – and there's no more water to make up the deficit.
Homeowners and businesses alike are feeling the pinch more than ever from increased rates, and now with fines for water waste (especially from noticeable runoff). The demand on landscape contractors and designers to provide more efficient water management is the highest it's ever been, and will continue growing for the foreseeable future.
"Water savings is a trend that will impact landscape businesses and homeowners more and more as time goes on."
Call me for advice on how to find ways to save on your water bill.