Can An Automatic Sprinkler System Lower My Water Bill?

If you water your lawn with a hose and sprinklers, chances are, you’re wasting water — and money.

Sure, we know how much fun it is to drag those cumbersome hoses and sprinklers around the yard over and over again. But an automatic sprinkler system effectively and efficiently waters the lawn, spreading water only when and where it’s needed.

Technology has stepped in to make potential savings even greater, with system upgrades that help reduce water usage while encouraging a healthy, well-watered lawn.

Let’s take a look at how automatic sprinkler systems can save water, saving you money on your water bill.

First, A Look At Water Use

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the average American household uses 320 gallons of water per day. Landscape irrigation is estimated to account for nearly one-third of that, totaling nearly 9 billion gallons per day.

In addition, as much as 50 percent of water used for irrigation is wasted due to evaporation, wind, or runoff caused by inefficient irrigation methods and systems.

How Manual Watering Wastes Money

Hose-end sprinklers use more water than necessary and don’t evenly distribute the water. Water often sprays where it isn’t needed, shooting over onto pavement, driveways and sidewalks.

It’s easy to forget to turn the sprinkler off, so you’re often using more water than your landscape needs.

An automatic irrigation system prevents this waste. The sprinkler heads are placed at precise locations that allow them to deliver water only where it’s needed —to lawn, shrubs, trees and flower beds. And timers ensure automatic turnoff, whether you’re paying attention or not.

Saving Water — And Money — With Smart Irrigation Controls

Smart irrigation controllers boost an automatic irrigation system’s efficiency even more. They act as a sort of thermostat for your sprinkler system, telling it when to turn on and off.

Instead of just turning on based on what time of day it is, they can use local weather and landscape conditions to tailor watering schedules to actual conditions in your landscape.

Smart controllers maintain your watering schedule, so you don’t have to. They automatically adjust for changes in weather and seasonality, using as little water as possible while keeping your landscape looking its best.

No more wasted water.

Irrigation With EPA Approval

Neave Irrigation works with smart control manufacturer Hunter, the first irrigation manufacturer to receive approval on a wide array of smart controllers under the strict testing guidelines put in place by the EPA.

Hunter’s Solar Sync sensor is an advanced weather sensor that calculates evaporation and adjusts the controllers daily based on local weather conditions.

It also measures sunlight and temperature to modify the actual irrigation run time for the day. If it’s raining or freezing, the controller knows to shut things down.

How Much Can Smart Irrigation Save?

If every home in the United States installed an automatic sprinkler system with a smart controller, we could save $435 million in water costs and 120 billion gallons of water across the country annually from not over watering lawns and landscapes, according to the EPA.

The average family can save nearly 9,000 gallons of water annually by replacing a standard clock timer controller with a WaterSense labeled model, the EPA estimates.

Consider Drip Irrigation

Drip irrigation systems have become increasingly popular because of their money-saving potential.

With drip irrigation, water is delivered more precisely to the root zones at the base of the plant, where the water is quickly absorbed. It uses less water and there’s no waste from over spray.

Drip irrigation can be customized for small residential gardens, greenhouses or large-scale properties such as parks and golf courses.

Neave Knows Smart Irrigation

Neave Irrigation offers customized automatic sprinkler systems that will keep your lawn and landscape healthy and well watered, while using water as efficiently as possible.

Neave Irrigation specialists aren’t just experts on sprinklers. They’re trained to know the irrigation needs of various plant life so they can offer the best advice.

We’re happy to visit you for a site analysis, so we can advise you on the best sprinkler system for your property.

If you’re in the Hudson Valley, call us at (845) 463-0592. If you’re in Westchester County, call (914) 271-7996; from Connecticut, dial (203) 212-4800. Or, fill out our simple web form, and we’ll contact you about setting up your free consultation.

Images: Blade of grass