Automatic Savings from Irrigation Devices

By: Greg Plantamura, Grant Worker

If your home uses an automatic irrigation system, these devices can help you save energy, water and money–and keep your yard looking greener.



Rain sensors, the simplest rain shut-off device, are designed to bypass a scheduled event from an automatic irrigation system timer after a specific amount of rainfall has occurred. They are small and inexpensive devices that are wired to the irrigation system timer. They can result in a 34% savings during normal/wet weather conditions and 15% savings during dry weather conditions.

Soil moisture controllers are designed to bypass a scheduled event from an automatic irrigation system timer if the soil water content is above a certain threshold, defined and set by the user. The sensor, buried within the turf grass or landscape root zone, checks the soil water content. Savings could provide a payback in one to two years and result in 69 to 92% savings during normal/wet weather.

ET (Weather-based) controllers schedule irrigation based on on-site weather data (Stand-Alone) or a signal from a local, publicly available weather station (Signal-Based). ET controllers work differently depending on the manufacturer but typically can be programmed with site-specific conditions such as soil type, plant type, sprinkler type, sun and shade, etc. Yearly signal fees may be required.

All of these devices can be set up to conform to day-of-week watering restrictions.

Resources:

Energy Efficient Irrigation Systems

Easy Ways to Conserve Water

Mary Campbell, Pinellas County Extension Director, Urban Sustainability Agent

Here is a quiz. On average, how many gallons of water per day does one person use? Take a guess. If you guessed about 50 gallons/day you are wrong. Ok, I will stop fooling around; the answer is about 100 gallons.

Have you looked at your water bill lately to see how much you use? I was shocked to see that I was using considerably more than the 100 gallons per day per person in my home. I started to try and figure out what was going on, which led me to a leak in an outside line in the garden that was losing about 10,000 gallons per month.

It was not easy to find, so don’t give up if you think you have a leak. Turn everything off in the house and go outside to the meter and see if the little leak detector is spinning. If it is – start hunting. Leaks are a huge water waster and you are paying for that water.

In one year, a faucet that drips at the rate of one drop per second translates into 2,700 gallons of water down the drain. Do-it-yourselfers can remedy the problem by replacing worn washers or the entire faucet; if you're not up to the job, call in a qualified professional.

Toilets are the biggest water hog, accounting for 28 percent of all home water use. Consider replacing an older model with a more efficient, low-flow one that uses just 1 to 2 gallons per flush, or consider upgrading to a pressure-assisted, vacuum-assisted, or dual-flush model. Low-flow showerheads and faucet aerators are two additional water-wise bathroom must-haves that will further cut water use by hundreds of gallons per month.

Here's a water-wasting habit that's easy to break: letting the water run while brushing teeth, washing hands, or shaving. See for yourself how much water you'll save by putting the stopper in the sink and leaving the water running. Fills up pretty fast, doesn't it? Simply by turning off the water when you're not actually using it, you'll save gallons per minute.

Watering our landscapes is another area that we need to be very careful even if you are using a well. Our groundwater resources are also important. To learn more about conserving water in the landscape: http://pinellas.ifas.ufl.edu/fyn/index.shtml

Water is an important resource that we need to conserve. Only three percent of the planets water is fit to drink – so let’s not waste what we have!

Pinellas County Utilities Water Conservation: http://www.pinellascounty.org/utilities/conserve-altwater.htm