Can You Use Less Water and Get Greener Lawns?
I used to watch my water bill go through the roof during the hot summer months as I tried to keep my lawn green with my irrigation system. It seemed that no matter how much I watered, I couldnt keep my lawn green. Imagine my surprise when I found out that I could actually get a greener lawn by having my lawn sprinkler system on less!
In my search for the optimal time to have the lawn sprinkler system run, I came across Doug Bailey at Efficient Irrigation Resources. They explained that your lawn can only hold so much water and it just runs through the soil, carrying with it the nutrients your lawn needs, especially after you fertilize. So when your irrigation system over-waters your lawn, you could be robbing it of valuable nutrition.
There are several ways to make sure your lawn sprinkler system is delivering the right amount of water, but the most reliable is to use a sensor that measure the absolute value of the moisture in the soil and the maximum amount of water your soil can hold. Doug and the others at Efficient Irrigation Resources represent a line of moisture sensors manufactured by Acclima that accomplish that and more.
The heart of all Acclima controllers is a digital sensor. just bury it in the root zone (three to four inches deep) and it regularly communicates moisture information to the controller. This feedback allows the controller to irrigate only when soil moisture level requires. This allows the soil moisture to be automatically maintained within an optimal range. One sensor is usually sufficient for a residence. 7 or 8 eight sensors may be needed for an institutional property.
There are various lines of Acclima controllers including the RS500 Soil Moisture Controller, the SC Series Controller and the CS3500 Water-On Demand system. You can go to www.efficientirrigation.com for more information these sensors.
Instead of taking Dougs word for it, I decided to do some research on my own and here is what I found. Several third parties, including the University of Florida, have tested the Acclima system. They found that the Acclima system showed a 40-80% water savings. There are also several public entities that have also passed ordinances either requiring or providing incentives for the use of moisture sensors. Los Angeles, CA, Las Vegas, NV, and Denver, CO is a partial list of municipalities. The Acclima sensors are on the approved lists for these municipalities.
I installed an RS500 and the results have been amazing. (If I had to do it all over again, I would have gone with one of the SC Controllers because the Acclima timers have some advanced functionality not offered by my existing timer, but I am still getting great results.) The system was surprisingly affordable, especially when you add in the water savings. My grass is greener and my irrigation system uses about half as much water as I used to.
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