Learning New Tricks

October 2004

By Anne Morris

We all like to regard ourselves as water-efficient. We wouldn't use more water than is absolutely necessary, now would we?

Well, let's hope not.

Once everyone learns about smart controllers, previously satisfied home owners and landscapers may suddenly realize that even they could do better at water conservation if they were to take advantage of relatively inexpensive existing technology.

The result would be water and money saved.

Shaw Merrill, who is director of marketing for Irrisoft, Inc., in Logan, Utah, does a good job of putting into simple language the idea behind his company's smart irrigation controller called Weather Reach. "It uses up-to-date weather information - in most cases hourly weather information - to determine the watering needs for your landscape," Merrill said. "The bottom line is that it ends up giving your landscape the water it needs, when it needs it." He said typical water savings were from 20 to 50 percent on water use, which translates to significant money saved on water bills, as well as on commercial and residential landscapes. The unit itself was developed by Steven Moore, founder and president of the company.

Irrisoft, now a subsidiary of Campbell Scientific Company, started out six years ago as a provider of software solutions for the irrigation industry. At first, that meant mostly cataloguing and pricing software for typical business uses. However, drought conditions in the West have helped make their Weather Reach smart controller receiver a popular seller. It can be added on to most existing controllers.

What size landscape can use such a receiver?

"Anything," Merrill said. "Yes, even a home. We have homes with a receiver on it. It's an accessory to your existing automatic controller and acts as a receiver for this weather information." In other words, the receiver can interupt your controller and tell it when to water.

The receiver uses a system of research-grade weather stations designed for information from a regional weather station. Every hour, a signal is received with the latest weather information (temperature, humidity, wind speed, etc.), and that information can be used to calculate how much moisture has left the soil in a particular landscape. When the moisture reaches a certain level, it is replenished. "The soil acts as a gas tank, so to speak, for your car," Merrill said, "What we do is allow that moisture level to get down to about half a tank, and then when it reaches that level, Weather Reach tells the controller to put it back - to water, to fill the tank up.

"The funny thing is," Merrill said, "we've got a few people calling in and saying the system is not working, because it hasn't watered their lawn in 15 days, when, in reality, it's working. We ask how the landscape is, and they say, 'It's beautiful. It's green, but I'm worred." On installation, the system was programmed to reflect soil type, type of landscape and zone. In fact, the landscape is likely getting the right amount. It's not uncommon in the spring and late fall to go 10, 12, 15 or more days without watering.

"Don't worry," we say. "It's doing its job."

"The technology of using weather to base your irrigation schedule is nothing new," Merrill acknowledged. "Golf courses and larger projects haved used it for decades, but it's often very expensive. Now we've taken it and put it into an affordable package."

Merrill feels confident about his company's place. "This is the future," he said. "The future is now. This is the way people are starting to look at irrigation."

What about the drought?

If anything, it has helped push technology further. Automatic sprinkler systems are basically just timers, set to run every other day or every third day. A system like Weather Reach shines in times of drought, because such smart controllers actually conserve water beyond what you get with water restrictions. "Basically, what it does is provide people with a beautiful landscape 24/7, 365 days a year," Merrill said. Hey may be a little biased, but various tests of his system back him up. You might want to try your own test. For information, check out the Web site at www.weatherreach.com.

Weather Reach is a new product from a relatively new company. Older irrigation companies though are also involved in innovation. You'd think a 75-year old valve manufacturer lke Conbraco Industries, Inc. might rest on its laurels, but a conversation with Doug Deviney, who works in sales for Conbraco, revealed that they have a new dual-check valve about to debut, as well as other improved valves. "It would be premature to talk about it now," Deviney said, but keep your eyes out for them.

Conbraco valves that are important to the irrigation field include backflow valves, water pressure reducing valves, double-check valves, and isolation valves. To learn more about their products, visit the Web site at www.conbraco.com. They've kept hte focus on quality for years. Founded in Detroit, they moved 25 years later to Charlotte, NC, and later expanded to South Carolina.

"The lessons of history tell us that by focusing on quality, helping our customers with problem-solving innovations, working hard, and working as a team, Conbraco Industries will continue to thrive," the Web site trumpets. Of course, we're all eager to check out their newest products, but we'll have to wait just a little longer.

Anne Morris is a freelance writer who resides in Austin, Texas.

Article as appeared in Turf Magazine, October 2004, page D4.