Put your smart irrigation to the test to see if it’s saving you money as well as conserving our most precious resource – water.

If you own a smart sprinkler system for your lawn and landscape beds, you’re on the way to saving money on your water bills. Plus, you’ll have a beautiful lawn and healthy plants, allowing you to save even more money.

Moving Toward Saving Money & Water

1.  Make sure you have the newest Bluetooth technology, timers, and weather sensors. Bluetooth technology, rain sensors, and timers help you to water your lawn and landscaped areas correctly. For example, a rain sensor will shut off your sprinkler system and bubblers when it starts to rain, so the sprinkler system isn’t watering your lawn at the same time that you’re getting a downpour. Timers allow you to control when your irrigation system goes off in the early mornings. And you can adjust the sprinkler system timer to shut off the water after several hours of watering.

2.  Measure how much rain you get in one week. You take the total of rainfall and subtract it from the 1” to 2” of water your lawn needs every week. You’ll find that you can adjust your sprinkler system to work less during rainy weeks.3.  Reset your timers for each season of the year. For those in colder states, you’ll need to adjust your sprinklers two to three times per growing season. Many homeowners only set their timers in the spring and forget about resetting them again in the summer and fall. In spring and fall, your lawn and landscaped areas don’t need as much water as they do in the middle of July. So, you’re short-changing your lawn when you don’t readjust your timer to meet the water demands of summer. Conversely, if you forget to turn back your timer in the fall, you’ll be wasting money and water because your lawn won’t need as much moisture in the fall as it does during the summer. Remember to reset your sprinkler system timer at each change of the season: Spring, summer, fall, and winter.4.  Divide your property into hydrozones. One of the first steps toward smart irrigation starts with grass and landscaped beds. For example, grass on slopes will dry out faster because of the wind sweeping over them. Conversely, a shaded backyard won’t need as much water as the sloped area. So, you want to plant landscaped beds and grass seed that’ll thrive in each zone. For example, you’ll want to plant sun-loving grass in those parts of your property that get mostly sunshine during the day. The same with your landscaped beds … some plants do better in full sun, partial sun or in the shade. Before installing your driplines and tree bubblers, realize that shady areas will need less moisture than plants living in full sun. When you put your lawn and gardens in hydrozones, you’ll be able to tailor your irrigation system to go off at different intervals based on each area’s moisture needs.

5.  Get the right sprinkler heads for the correct zone. Did you know that there are different types of sprinkler heads? Different sprinkler heads and nozzles deliver different amounts of water for their zone. You want the right sprinkler heads for each zone. Additionally, you want to set up your sprinkler heads to start where the sprinkler’s arc ends and the next sprinkler’s arc begins. You don’t want sprinkler heads overlapping each other.

6.  Install irrigation controllers to your system. Sprinkler system controllers will save you money on your water bill as well as preventing water waste. Timers, rain sensors, control panels, and flow sensors allow you, the homeowner, to monitor the flow and timing of water emitted from your system. Wi-Fi irrigation controllers allow you to regulate your lawn and landscape sprinkler system, whether you’re at home, at the office, or on vacation on the other side of the world.

7.  Align sprinkler heads, so there’s no wasted water. When you align your sprinkler heads, you want to position them so they’re only watering your lawn and not your driveway, walkways, patio or other hardscaped areas. Needlessly watering these hardscaped areas is wasteful. Water run-off occurs when your lawn is overwater and the excess runs into stormwater drains. This run-off then pollutes local waterways. Reduce runoff with proper sprinkler head alignment for all hydrozones.

8.  Install low water nozzles. Advanced technology has allowed outdoor sprinkler system manufacturers to reduce the amount of water coming out of individual nozzles. K-Rain’s Rotary Nozzles Series and K-Rain’s Fully Adjustable Nozzles are low-flow nozzles that reduce the amount of water being emitted. For example, K-Rain’s rotary nozzles save up to 30% of the water used. You can measure that with lower water bills. Additionally, these low flow rotary nozzles eliminate misting. Misting occurs when the sprinkler emits a fine spray that evaporates before it reaches the ground.


9.  Recalibrate your older lawn sprinklers. You can replace your older sprinkler system parts with new ones without having to start from scratch. It’s one of the best parts of irrigation system technology. You’ll notice the savings and less water waste right away.10.  Don’t forget to practice smart irrigation. Irrigation systems are controlled by you. So, schedule your lawn sprinkler and bubblers to go off in the early morning to eliminate evaporation by the sun. Only water your lawn 1”-2” per week. Measure rainfall to subtract the rain amount against the 1”-2” of weekly water output. Set your irrigation controllers to only deliver the remaining amount of water needed for your lawn and landscape. Remember, deep, infrequent watering benefits your plants better than a shallow, daily sprinkle.

How a K-Rain Irrigation System Helps You Conserve Water Every Time You Turn It On