Irrigation Controllers
The irrigation controller is the brain of any irrigation system and can be as advanced or simple as the programmer/end-user wishes to make it. The basic controller function is to run the valves it is attached to, at frequency intervals and days of the week ideal to the type of plantings it is watering.
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What is an Irrigation Controller?
The controller will send an electrical signal to the valve based on its programming turning them on and off as to how they have been set up. The days, duration, and time they turn on will all be things to consider when programming the system. We highly recommend a licensed irrigator or repair expert program your controller. Though this article makes simple the statement regarding programming and water days/durations there are actually numerous scientific means by which to precisely program a controller.
Simple, at-a-glance feature use and basics of controller programming are similar across all makes and models of controllers. Today these can now connect to your home Wi-Fi signal and through an app and can be run and monitored from your phone. More advance commercial controllers can monitor the water flowing through the system, local weather data, soil moisture, and shut itself down when it senses a leak or other irregularities as well as provide functional data that can assist horticultural maintenance personnel be more successful at managing the landscape of large facilities or residences.
For this piece, we will talk about just residential controllers and the basics of irrigation programming. Residential irrigation controllers are smaller, normally located in your garage or on the outside of your home close to the utility connections and provide multiple start times and programs as well as are sold in station load configurations – meaning the number of zones your system contains can be matched to the size of controller available. There are controllers made for 4 stations all the way up to commercial beasts that can handle 200 zones. Some residential/light commercial controllers are expandable - meaning the base unit can handle 8-12 stations (normally) and then can expand via modules to 24 and 48 stations depending on the model.
Simple residential controller programming will set your zones to run a certain amount of time on a program. Let’s say you have 8 zones – 4 turf - 3 beds and 1 tree zone. It is best in your location to water the turf zones for 15 minutes twice a week, the beds for 30 minutes twice a week, and the trees for 1 hour once a week.
Steps We Take With Scheduling Controllers
Step 1 – Located the program button on your controller. Most controllers will have an A, B, and C program. We will want to program the 2x week watering on the same program and 1x per week watering on a separate program.
Step 2 – With the program switch In program A – we add 15 minutes to zones 1-4 and 30 minutes for zones 5-7.
Step 3 -- We then will need to set the days it will water and the times the program will turn on. Some cities are governed by watering restrictions and this is where we would accommodate those in programming the day and start times. For this exercise, we will set 8 am as the start time and Monday and Thursday for the water days…. When Monday rolls around the controller will fire zone 1 at 8am and run all stations in order that have time on their station, in program A. This will cause the controller and irrigation to run for a total of 2.5 hours.. ( 4 zones at 15 minutes and 3 at 30 – add up the time). This will happen again on Thursday – per our initial parameters and 2 days a week watering.
What We Do Personally?
Our trees on the other hand need just 1 day of week watering. For this instance, we would add the one hour of time to the tree zone (#8) but we would add this to program B. We will set the water day on Wednesday and the start time at 11 pm (all in program b)
Now – our turf will water on Monday and Thursday in the morning every week and the trees would water just once on Wednesday evenings…
This is more advanced programming and takes a while to master. It is important that you as the homeowner/user are aware of your controller functions but please let the pro’s handle the initial setup and major adjustments. The other factors involved in controller programming include soil type and makeup, elevation differentials per zone, the type of nozzle/emitter/bubbler/dripline, plant crop coefficient, local evapotranspiration data, and the mulch type in planting beds…
An important note on start times –
Most controllers will have multiple start time programming capabilities. Once you set one start time on the program it will run all zones with time set in that program for every start time every day the program is set to run. Numerous times it is found that this is widely misunderstood and from user programming mishaps, landscape watering can become prohibitive to the life of the landscape.
Other Basic Features of Irrigation Controllers
- Manual watering – where you can manually water just one zone or program.
- Cycle Soak – a more advanced feature where the elevations and possibly soil type will require shorter watering times and more frequent start times to avoid runoff.
- Station Test – This will allow you to choose the duration of the test per zone and will then run all of your zones for that time. A good feature allowing you to do a quick system check for leaks or component failure.
- Seasonal Adjustment – This allows you to choose the percentage of watering you would like to apply to the current programming in order to make seasonal adjustments during times of drought or dormancy.
The controller is a clock – with an irrigation angle. Proper maintenance and use by your irrigation service provider will ensure your system and landscape remain in the best horticultural shape year round!
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