Plant irrigation setup keeps up with local weather
(Credit:
Great Green Gadgets)
Since the invention of agriculture, people have tried to come up with smarter ways to water plants. Those with indoor gardens have ultimate control over the amount of H20 that goes over the plants, and have only to rely on their gardening sensibilities to gauge how much to use. Those with outdoor gardens, however, are subject to the laws of nature. And with all that outdoor space comes a bigger garden, not as easily watered by hand.
Many people opt for garden timers that space out watering times, but these create a potential for waste. On rainy days, why not let Mother Nature do the hard work? This Cyber-Rain Automated Irrigation System plans to do just that.
Cyber-Rain checks local forecasts over the Internet, and automatically adjusts your watering timer to account for differences in precipitation. The payoff is a savings of 70 percent of your normal watering costs. It controls up to eight customizable zones and can be installed outdoors.
The Cyber-Rain is available for $399 at Smarthome.
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by celticbrewer
June 15, 2009 12:02 PM PDT
- Yes, because weather forcasts are always correct and specific. I've gone one town over where it's downpouring and then come home to where it hasn't rained a drop.
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by gconnery
June 15, 2009 4:59 PM PDT
- Well, the point of using the prediction is that if it will rain IN THE FUTURE then don't water NOW. So no, that isn't the same thing.
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by jenlowell
June 16, 2009 9:48 AM PDT
- Touche. More than once, I've checked my weather app on my phone and adjusted plans, only to find later that the predictions were way off. In fact, I'm staring at my rain-spotted window, and I clearly remember reading "clear and sunny" this morning...
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by donatello77
July 30, 2009 7:18 PM PDT
- I agree that the most logical and sensible option would be to measure the moisture of the soil. Besides itīs a little expensive to invest so much money on unreliable weather forecasts.
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(4 Comments)Wouldn't a more sensible option be to measure the moisture of the soil?
Existing cheap controllers have rain gauges that let you adjust them for the recent rainfall. I assume you'd want to supplement the weather prediction stuff with some kind of "well, if it still didn't rain, then water anyway" thing.
I think the idea behind Cyber-Rain comes from a place of good intentions. Although it's tough to get accurate forecasts, it's nice to save water where we can. I think both you and gconnery are right, and a device like this would probably be best paired with an additional rain gauge, to offset the inevitable gap between forecasts and reality.
Thanks for the comments.