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Here you will find Hints and Tips on how to use your Sprinkler System Efficiently, and lower your water bill dramatically
What is the number one cause of a high water bill ? Sprinkler System does not have a smart timer that calculates how much to water daily based on historical data and your lawn. Smart timers are proven to lower water bills by over 30 to 50 percent a year, and water only what is needed creating a greener lawn for much less money. To See Smart Timers Click Here. Smart Timers have been used on golf courses, and crop fields for years. Now available for the residential market. Program once and never touch your timer. The onboard computer will calculate daily how much to water based on small weather station attached. Why Is My Water Bill So High ? It is estimated that over 70% of homeowners do not water properly wasting over 30% of the water applied to there lawn by over watering or runoff. Timers need to be adjusted at least monthly for the different needs of your lawn throughout the year. It has more to do with how you water versus how much you water. Search below to find information about how to water, or call to have a technician stop by and teach you. What information is used to program my controller ? We use Historical Evapotranspiration Data( Rate at which your lawn loses water based on Historical climate data for your area). Depth of grass roots, Type of sprinkler head, (gallons per Minute + Precipitation Rate), Type of soil, Amount of sun or shade, Slope of the lawn. Note - Timers need to be reprogrammed at least monthly. How much water does my lawn need per month ? Historical Evapotranspiration Rate Per Month. Based On Weather Station In our area April 2.7 Inches Timer Is programmed at startup for 2.7 Inches, and is increased or decreased throughout season May 4.0 inches Increase 40% June 4.9 Inches Increase 20% July 5.0 Inches No Increase August 4.1 Inches Lower 20% September 2.9 Inches Lower 40% October 1.9 Inches Lower 50% Or Turn Timer Off If you have a timer with Seasonal Adjust Percentage Adjustment raise and lower according to each month above to help increase efficiency How much water is my system using? A typical 6 zone system containing 16 large heads running 20 minutes and 15 spray heads running 10 minutes uses over 1000 gallons in a day. If your using the every other day method through the summer from April to the end of September 90,000 gallons have been used to water your lawn. This is a rough estimate only How much water can I save ? Using a Water Management Schedule or a Smart Timer will reduce the water used by the above system by up to 30,000 gallons example purposes only How long should I run each zone? This is a very difficult question to answer. A great deal of information is needed to calculate how much water is needed. The typical answer here is large heads 20 minutes, spray heads 10 minutes every other day in our area. Though this answer may keep your lawn green, you may be wasting as much as 30% of the water, and your lawn will not be as healthy as it should making it prone to disease. I have clay soil and my yard stays wet in areas brown in others what can I do ? A lawn on clay soil can only absorb .10 to .20 Inches per hour depending on the slope. Watering times should be split. Instead of watering once add additional start times and split run times. Example a spray head at 40psi waters 1.6 Inches of water per hr. If the zone runs for 10 minutes the spray head will water .27 inches which the clay soil cannot absorb. Running the zone twice fro 5 minutes allowing 45 minutes between for the water to soak in will keep your lawn greener, and your water bill a lot lower. The side of my yard between me and my neighbor stays wet. Do I have a leak? Probably not. The side of your yard probably receives little to no sunlight, and is a cut slope of clay allowing for drainage away from the home. If the above is true than this area needs very little water at all throughout the year. Water applied runs off due to the slope and clay soil. Lack of sunlight does not allow the area to dry out when over watered. Lower times dramatically for this area, or shut area off altogether. If area between houses is attached to other areas that do need water, your system was not zoned correctly and needs to be reconfigured by our technicians. Please call for a free estimate. I have certain areas of my lawn that never get green what can I do ? This is one of the most common problems that homeowners have, and actually is the easiest problem to resolve. The area in question probably has a difference in either slope, or soil type. There could also be a difference in the amount of sunlight this one area receives at different times of year. Reprogramming the timer to account for the above and possibly adding a sprinkler head off of existing zone for this area solves this problem inexpensively. Please call for a free estimate. What is a rain sensor ? A rain sensor is a small device attached to your roof to measure rainfall amounts. If rain occurs in the amount of .2 inches or more the rain sensor will send a signal to the timer to stop watering until sensor dries out. Costs to install rain sensors are minimal. Rain Sensors have been proven to save at least 10% on your yearly water bill Your company programmed my timer in the spring but now my grass is dry and brown. Timers are set in the spring for current spring watering conditions. Watering times and amounts need to be changed throughout the year as demand raises and lowers. Monthly adjustments are needed to keep your water bill low and your lawn green. Information can be found on this page on how to make adjustments. Another option is to have a Smart Timer installed which makes adjustments for you, and reduce water use by 30%. Please call to have a technician visit to help you. My zones with spray heads stay green but my large rotor head areas are brown what can I do ? Spray heads in general apply at least 3 times as much water as rotors in a given time. The large heads rotate to cover a larger area thus taking longer to apply the same amount of water than a spray head can apply. If a spray head runs for 5 minutes it would take the rotor 15 minutes to apply the same amount of water. This is an example only. This is why spray heads are never on a zone with rotors. A great deal of water will be wasted.
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