Smart Irrigation Controllers Studied

The Irrigation Technology Center of A&M's Texas AgriLife Extension Service has completed an eight-week study of smart irrigation controllers. A total of six different controllers were studied throughout the summer. Some used weather data from remote services to determine when to water, while others collected information from onsite sensors.

The study showed that amounts of water released varied significantly with the controllers tested, and all applied more water than A&M experts recommended. Researchers found that systems with onsite sensors typically applied less water during testing than those that used off-site weather data.

Irrigation experts at A&M concluded that current technology, although not as yet perfected, is moving in the right direction to conserve diminishing water supplies and to reduce utility bills.