Weather- and Soil Moisture-Based Landscape Irrigation Scheduling Devices
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Weather- and Soil Moisture-Based Landscape Irrigation Scheduling Devices Technical Review Report – 5th Edition U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation Lower Colorado Region and Technical Service Center May 2015 Mission Statements The U.S. Department of the Interior protects America’s natural resources and heritage, honors our cultures and tribal communities, and supplies the energy to power our future. The mission of the Bureau of Reclamation is to manage, develop, and protect water and related resources in an environmentally and economically sound manner in the interest of the American public. For copies of this report contact Reclamation’s Southern California Area Office in the Lower Colorado Region at 951-695-5310 or download at: http://www.usbr.gov/waterconservation/docs/SmartController.pdf. Weather- and Soil Moisture-Based Landscape Irrigation Scheduling Devices Technical Review Report – 5th Edition prepared by Southern California Area Office Lower Colorado Region Temecula, California and Water Resources Planning and Operations Support Group Technical Service Center Denver, Colorado U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation Lower Colorado Region and Technical Service Center May 2015 Weather- and Soil Moisture-Based Landscape Scheduling Devices Table of Contents page Introduction............................................................................................................1 Smart Irrigation Technology Overview...............................................................3 SWAT Testing ...................................................................................................3 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency WaterSense Program ..........................5 Reported Water Savings ....................................................................................6 No Rating of Products........................................................................................6 Weather-Based Irrigation Control System Principles ........................................7 Weather-Based Control Product Features and Comparison Criteria ..............9 Installation..........................................................................................................9 Stand-Alone Controller Versus Add-On Device ...............................................9 Irrigation Schedules and Run Time Calculation and Adjustment ...................10 Application Rates and Distribution Uniformity ...............................................10 Irrigation Run and Soak Cycles .......................................................................11 Landscape Establishment/Fertilizer and Syringe Programs ...........................11 Crop Coefficients .............................................................................................11 Rain Sensors and Gauges and Rain Interrupt or Delay....................................11 Other Sensors...................................................................................................12 Power Supply and Surge and Lightning Protection.........................................12 Station Circuit Rating, Wiring, and Terminal Wire Sizes ...............................12 Clock Mode Operation.....................................................................................13 Display and Data Review.................................................................................13 Nonvolatile Memory and Batteries ..................................................................13 Warranty and Reliability..................................................................................14 Weather-Based Product Descriptions ................................................................15 Accurate WeatherSet .......................................................................................15 Alex-Tronix......................................................................................................18 Brilliant Integrated Technologies ....................................................................21 Calsense ...........................................................................................................29 Cyber Rain .......................................................................................................36 ETwater Systems .............................................................................................40 Hunter Industries..............................................................................................48 HydroPoint.......................................................................................................52 Irrisoft ..............................................................................................................57 Irritrol...............................................................................................................63 OnPoint EcoSystems ........................................................................................67 Rachio ..............................................................................................................70 Rain Bird..........................................................................................................74 Raindrip............................................................................................................79 Rain Master......................................................................................................84 Signature Control Systems ...............................................................................89 Skydrop............................................................................................................93 Weathermatic ...................................................................................................95 i Soil Moisture-Based Irrigation Control System Principles ...........................103 Soil Moisture-Based Control Product Features and Comparison Criteria ..105 Soil Moisture Sensor Types...........................................................................105 Installation......................................................................................................107 Stand-Alone Versus Add-On Controller........................................................107 Irrigation Schedules and Run Time Calculation and Adjustment .................108 Single Versus Multiple Soil Moisture Sensors ..............................................108 Soil Temperature and Conductivity Measurement and Display ....................108 Soil Moisture Sensor Accuracy and Calibration............................................109 Power Supply and Surge and Lightning Protection.......................................109 Station Circuit Rating, Wiring, and Terminal Wire Sizes .............................110 Warranties and Reliability .............................................................................110 Soil Moisture-Based Product Descriptions ......................................................111 Acclima ..........................................................................................................111 Baseline..........................................................................................................115 Calsense .........................................................................................................121 Dynamax ........................................................................................................123 Hunter Industries............................................................................................127 IRROMETER ................................................................................................129 MorpH2O .......................................................................................................134 Rain Bird........................................................................................................136 UgMO Technologies......................................................................................138 References Cited.................................................................................................143 Attachments........................................................................................................145 Weather-Based Irrigation Technologies—Summary of Product Information and Features ................................................................................ A1 Weather-Based Irrigation Technologies—Summary of Product Information and Features (continued) ............................................................. A2 Soil Moisture-Based Irrigation Technologies—Summary of Product Information and Features ................................................................................ A3 Tables page Table 1.—WeatherSet Prices (Includes Solar and Rain Sensors) ..........................17 Table 2.—Brilliant Integrated Technologies Model Descriptions and Prices .......26 Table 3.—Comparative Study Test Report Tabulated Results ..............................28 Table 4.—Table Correlation Between Historical and Measured ET .....................32 Table 5.—Calsense Products Price Summary .......................................................35 Table 6.—Hunter Products Price Summary...........................................................51 Table 7.—WeatherTRAK Model Descriptions and Prices ....................................56 Table 8.—Summary of WeatherTRAK Demonstration Projects ..........................57 Table 9.—Irritrol Smart Dial Controller, Module, and Accessory