The challange
inefficient watering
Traditional irrigation systems often operate on fixed schedules, regardless of current weather, soil conditions, or plant needs.
This approach often leads to unnecessary water waste and overwatering that harms plants and raises utility bills. Such inefficiencies are costly, prompting property owners, managers, and landscapers to seek more sustainable solutions.
This issue is becoming more pressing than ever as the climate crisis amplifies the desertification of many areas, requiring more accountable water management methods.
Assessing existing solutions
When looking to make watering systems more sustainable, typical directions include:
#1: Manual watering
Although this method offers tangible control, it is time-consuming and relies heavily on human input. As a result, it may lead to inconsistent watering and doesn’t easily scale in large commercial properties.
#2: Timer-based sprinklers
Such sprinkling systems automate irrigation, but they lack the adaptability to account for changing environmental conditions like rainfall or soil moisture. Once configured, they operate on set schedules, which may prove inadequate.
#3: Moisture sensors
Basic sensors measure soil moisture, but they still require manual adjustments. They can prove inefficient unless you integrate them with other systems and automate.
While all these solutions partly address the inefficient watering challenge, none provides a comprehensive solution to minimising water waste while ensuring optimal plant moisture levels.
The winning solution
IoT + cloud-based analytics + automation
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IoT sensors
Collect data from the soil and plants.
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The cloud-based analytics platform
crunches the input on water usage and plant health. The cloud’s flexible storage enables the platform to smoothly process large volumes of real-time and historical data for precise calculations.
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Automation
enables dynamic adjustments to smart watering schedules and plans following the input from IoT sensors and analytics.
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A mobile app
lets users remotely control the system from their smart devices, offering flexibility and convenience.
Results: a truly smart watering system
The smart watering system delivers significant outcomes:
A01
First and foremost, water conservation,
as the solution can even cut water usage in half.
A02
Second is continued plant health,
as data-driven watering automation can meet their needs.
A03
Third, noticeable cost savings,
as smart watering systems reduce utility bills and labour costs. Automation relieves staff who can focus on other maintenance and gardening tasks.
