There are many benefits to investing in sprinkler system installation in Fort Lauderdale, FL for your property. It can take the manual labor out of maintaining your lawn, ensure beautiful, lush grass and keep your landscape watered evenly and conservatively. However, an automatic sprinkler system can also help you save money on your water bill! Read on to discover the ways your sprinkler system can help you save:
- Irrigation zones: Automatic sprinkler systems should be installed in specific irrigation zones, which means that each sprinkler will be set to cover a certain area, with little to no overlap between the zones. Zones will be separated between types of plants as well, with turf and ornamental plants being kept completely separate, as they have different irrigation needs. Ornamental plants will also be grouped separately from each other. This way, every zone gets only and exactly the amount of water it needs—never more and never less. Limiting unnecessary irrigation will conserve water, and prevent overwatering of certain plants.
- Controllers and sensors: Controllers and sensors also aid in preventing overwatering. The controller is a timing device that controls when the system runs and for how long. The sensors determine when scheduled watering is unnecessary by measuring rainfall, as well as soil moisture. That way, if you’ve scheduled too many waterings or were surprised by rain, the system won’t overwater your lawn.
- Shut-off devices: The automatic shut-off devices that are included with sprinkler system installation in Fort Lauderdale, FL prevent overwatering, which conserves water and saves money on your water bills. These are low-cost devices that make sure your system doesn’t run when it doesn’t have to. All systems include a rain sensor, and have been required to by law since 1991, as this saves water and prohibits unnecessary water expenditure.
- Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP): FEMP found that shut-off devices could be used as water-saving technology for organizations in the federal sector, as these devices are commercially available and offer water-saving potential. In fact, in 2009 in a study in California, they found that systems with irrigation shut-off devices reduced water use by 39 percent over one year.
- Retrofitting systems with shut-off technology: These shut-off devices are widely available, even for systems that have already been installed. They can be added to any type of sprinkler head, including retrofitting applications. These devices not only conserve water and money, but also reduce erosion and runoff.
- Calibrating your system: After your sprinkler system installation in Fort Lauderdale, FL, you’ll need to calibrate the system for it to work its best. This will help it figure out how long it needs to run to apply the correct amount of irrigation. Turn the system on for 15 minutes while setting out cans or other water collection devices to measure the amount of water distributed. This will give you the rate in inches delivered to each zone. It should be between ½ to ¾ inches for most soils in California.
Spillers Sprinklers Inc. provides sprinkler system installation in Fort Lauderdale, FL. We look beyond irrigation installation, offering world-class solutions for your landscape and ensuring you get the best money-saving system for your space. Reach out to us today to learn more!