If you have a yard or garden on your property, it is important to note that about half of the water that you use in your home goes towards irrigating the landscape. You should also note that about half of that water goes to waste. This means that you are using more water than you should for watering your landscape. Most of the sprinkler systems available are not efficient and they end up wasting a lot of water. Hand watering is the most efficient system but it is time consuming and is often not practical.
The best way to ensure that your landscape looks healthy even in your absence is by installing a good irrigation system. Before installing an in-ground irrigation system, you need to know that there are different systems and some are more efficient than others are.
1. Drip irrigation system
Drip irrigation is one of the best systems that you can implement when you want water efficiency. This type of irrigation ensures slow, precise, and direct water application as the water gets directly into the soil. All the water gets to the plant and there is no wastage or run-off such as is seen with most sprinklers. All the water that is released by the drip system each hour is less than the amount released by traditional spray heads every minute.
2. Using bubblers
Bubblers are watering systems that ensure precise watering by delivering water around the plants, deep into the soil. This means that the water goes directly into the roots, making the bubblers perfect for deep-rooted plants such as trees. Bubblers are also great where you have planter boxes that cannot be watered effectively using traditional sprinklers. The bubblers are durable and they require very little maintenance. They require very little filtration and they help to reduce overspray and evaporation. They are also versatile due to the adjustable flow rate.
3. Stream rotors
Stream rotor pop-ups are slowly replacing traditional sprinklers or spray heads due to their efficiency. Unlike the traditional systems, stream rotors help to conserve water by releasing only about 25% of the water volume per minute. This helps to reduce evaporation and runoff and you do not have to use up as much water as when you use sprinklers. The stream rotors work perfectly when you need to water a large area or a lot of plants with fairly shallow root systems. The systems are great if you have bunchgrasses or groundcovers on your property.
4. An automatic controller
Installing a smart controller or weather-based controller can help to ensure that your lawn or garden gets watering only when it needs it. When you install an automatic controller or timer system, you can run your sprinkler system in response to changes in the weather. Either the controller can be weather-based or it can come with a moisture detection system. The system automatically adjusts the watering schedule and has the ability to turn off the sprinklers if it rains or increase the frequency when it is hot.
Also, make sure that you consider your home’s water pressure when choosing an irrigation system. The water pressure will determine how effective the irrigation system will be. Talk to us if you need more insights on how to choose the right irrigation system.
