Smart Irrigation

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The Future of Smart Irrigation Technology

7/3/2014

It’s hard to believe that it is already July! Seems like just a few weeks ago we were talking about irrigation start-ups and the dangers of a late frost. Time sure flies. But for those of us in the water efficiency world, July is one our favorite months. Why you ask? Because July is Smart Irrigation Month – a month long awareness campaign dedicated to educating the public on all the recent advances in irrigation technology and what they mean for water efficiency. Smart Irrigation Month is the creation of a City of Bend partner, the Irrigation Association (www.irrigation.org).

So this month we’re going to dive into a variety of smart irrigation topics over the course of July. There’s plenty to discuss. Just take a look at the www.waterwisetips.org website where we have an entire page dedicated to smart irrigation controllers. We also have several WaterWise Success Stories that highlight some of the great things that the City, Bend LaPine Schools District, and Bend Parks and Recreation District are doing that involve smart irrigation technology. Heck, we’re also giving away smart irrigation controllers throughout the month through the City’s Facebook and Twitter sites. Be sure to enter for your chance to win!
Irrigation technology has come a long way in the last decade. So much so that it begs the question “what will the next ten years bring”? Just think, ten years ago there weren’t many sensor based irrigation controllers on the market that the average homeowner could install, nor was there such thing as a low precipitation rate pop up rotary sprinkler…or if there was, only a few knew what they were. The point is that irrigation technology, like most technology, is moving quickly…so keep up!

In this month’s WaterWise WaterBlog I speculate (quite a bit) on a few items that we might be talking more about in the next decade.

The Internet of Irrigation Controllers

One of my favorite topics of discussion with fellow water people concerns the so called “internet of things”, or how our everyday devices are going to be accessible through an internet connection. Irrigation technology is no different. There are a variety of irrigation controllers out there on the market that are already accessible through smartphone, tablet or PC. In fact, some of our partners in Bend are doing this as we speak (check out the WaterWise Success Stories at www.waterwisetips.org). Think about it. When was the last time you owned a television with buttons and dials on the front? Why should your irrigation controller be any different? Should you really have to get up out of your chair to reprogram your irrigation controller? No.

My prediction: In ten years many of us won’t have an irrigation controller box on the side of your home or business. Instead, it we’ll have a website or smartphone app that controls our programmed irrigation with the help of real time evapotranspiration (ET) and related weather data.

Big Data Accessibility

Technology is already making leaps and bounds at your local water utility. It has too. Managing a diverse water supply, miles and miles of infrastructure, and thousands of customer accounts requires state of the art technology and most of all – accurate data. This starts with smart water metering technologies like advanced metering infrastructure (AMI). The City of Bend has AMI throughout its service area and is constantly working to improve the accuracy of data collected. This is great for us water efficiency and conservation professionals. We have to know how much water was produced yesterday, where it went, who paid for what, and how much was used for what purpose. These are all incredibly important questions that only accurate data can help us answer.

My Prediction: In ten years water customers will be able to access real time water use data via computer or mobile device. This information will allow us to make more informed decisions and better prioritize our water use based on self-imposed water budgets and so on. The possibilities are endless once we have the information in an accessible format.

The Arrival of Silicon Valley

Silicon Valley is synonymous with technology. Companies like Apple, Google, Facebook, and Ebay have revolutionized portions of our lives in the last decade. The next ten years will be no different. And, as the extreme to severe drought continues in much of California, this talented pool of techno wizards will take notice. How does that translate to the average homeowner? Well, take the innovative thermostat company Nest for example. These former Apple engineers have revolutionized the everyday thermostat. It knows when you’re home, it knows the temperature outside, and it can be programmed from the other side of the world. They’ve taken a simple device and made it incredibly smart and rightfully so when you consider the cost of heating and cooling the built environment. What could these folks do for your irrigation controller?

My Prediction: In ten years the smartest irrigation controllers will control themselves. They’ll know what types of plants are in your landscape, how old they are, and how deep their roots generally penetrate, and ultimately be able to answer the million dollar question – how much to water.

The Beginning of the End for Mow & Blow Contractors

This is could just be a pipe dream of mine, but at some point in the near future I like to think that the qualifications for a landscape maintenance contractor will be more than a truck, a mower, and a pulse. I might be crazy. These folks do us all an injustice. Contractors that take the time to invest in educating their staffs on the latest irrigation and landscape technology and promoting professional certification are all too often under bid by someone with a lower level of knowledge, zero certifications, and ultimately a lower quality of workmanship. Hopefully, we’re getting further and further away from the mow and blow standard.

My Prediction: In ten years the mow and blow contractor will still exist, but professionally educated and certified contractors will be the norm. Right now it seems as if they are the exception at times. We’ll get there!

So there you have it, my predictions for the next decade. There’s lots of great technology headed our way for sure, but remember, somebody has to install this technology and know how it works. That’s why my last prediction above is probably the one I have the most hope for. The other stuff would be great fun and just as interesting, we have to begin to place a greater value on the professionally educated and certified irrigation technician or landscaper. As I’ve been known to say “My grandmother with an iPhone isn’t as efficient as my grandmother with a rotary phone”…or something like that.

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