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Jessica Schwartz
Three Essential Irrigation Trends
Two-wire, battery power, and smart tech are taking control in landscape irrigation. Here’s what you need to know. Level up your customers’ irrigation systems and give yourself a competitive advantage by learning about the latest trends and top-selling products. These recommendations will not only help grow your business, but also help you tackle the challenges of meeting evolving state and national water use restrictions. Increasingly, customers are asking about product options that conserve energy and save money. Read on to learn three innovative ways to achieve your customers’ irrigation goals. Two-Wire Controllers The basic concept of a two-wire controller is that it uses a single two-wire path to communicate to a decoder or output device. It then uses the same wire to provide power to each zone valve through the solenoid. While a traditional controller is a reliable and tested irrigation method, there are several reasons you might consider two-wire for your next install. Traditional controller set-ups can use a lot of wire. Because a dedicated wire and common wire are required for each zone or control valve, this can quickly add up—especially in larger systems. Two-wire can actually use up to 70% less wire than traditional systems, depending on coverage area. This could mean lower installation and material costs for the same design and performance. Longer wire runs can also be achieved with a two-wire arrangement. If your installation has zone valves a significant distance from the controller, rather than upsizing the station wire to a larger gauge, ...
Three Essential Irrigation Trends
Two-wire, battery power, and smart tech are taking control in landscape irrigation. Here’s what you need to know. Level up your customers’ irrigation systems and give yourself a competitive advantage by learning about the latest trends and top-selling products. These recommendations will not only help grow your business, but also help you tackle the challenges of meeting evolving state and national water use restrictions. Increasingly, customers are asking about product options that conserve energy and save money. Read on to learn three innovative ways to achieve your customers’ irrigation goals. Two-Wire Controllers The basic concept of a two-wire controller is that it uses a single two-wire path to communicate to a decoder or output device. It then uses the same wire to provide power to each zone valve through the solenoid. While a traditional controller is a reliable and tested irrigation method, there are several reasons you might consider two-wire for your next install. Traditional controller set-ups can use a lot of wire. Because a dedicated wire and common wire are required for each zone or control valve, this can quickly add up—especially in larger systems. Two-wire can actually use up to 70% less wire than traditional systems, depending on coverage area. This could mean lower installation and material costs for the same design and performance. Longer wire runs can also be achieved with a two-wire arrangement. If your installation has zone valves a significant distance from the controller, rather than upsizing the station wire to a larger gauge, ...
Irrigation Restrictions Coming As West Battles Historic Drought
California and much of the western U.S. are entering a period of historic drought that experts say will stretch tight water supplies, increase wildfire risk, and bring new water-use restrictions — particularly for outdoor landscape use — as the summer unfolds. Westlands Water District, which serves farms and rural communities on the west side of Fresno and Kings counties in CA, already announced a ban on outdoor landscape irrigation on May 26. Many other areas may soon follow suit. Drought Conditions Westlands’ move came in reaction to an announcement by the federal Bureau of Reclamation, which allocates water supply to the Central Valley Project (CVP), that it would be cutting its supply to municipal and industrial entities from 55% to 25%. Though the initial CVP water supply had been announced in February, conditions have degraded since then, according to the Bureau, with the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Basin currently at its driest since 1977. Between the April 1 and May 1 forecasts, there was a 685,000 acre-feet reduction in the projected natural flow to the Sacramento, Feather, Yuba, and American rivers. According to The Mercury News, Sierra Nevada snowpack was just 59% of normal on April 1 — after the second dry winter in a row — and hot weather in May melted much of the snowpack significantly faster than was projected. “Due to the worsening drought conditions, inflow to our reservoirs was less than we expected,” Mary Lee Knecht, a Bureau spokeswoman told the newspaper. “Conditions are so dry, the ...
Irrigation Restrictions Coming As West Battles Historic Drought
California and much of the western U.S. are entering a period of historic drought that experts say will stretch tight water supplies, increase wildfire risk, and bring new water-use restrictions — particularly for outdoor landscape use — as the summer unfolds. Westlands Water District, which serves farms and rural communities on the west side of Fresno and Kings counties in CA, already announced a ban on outdoor landscape irrigation on May 26. Many other areas may soon follow suit. Drought Conditions Westlands’ move came in reaction to an announcement by the federal Bureau of Reclamation, which allocates water supply to the Central Valley Project (CVP), that it would be cutting its supply to municipal and industrial entities from 55% to 25%. Though the initial CVP water supply had been announced in February, conditions have degraded since then, according to the Bureau, with the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Basin currently at its driest since 1977. Between the April 1 and May 1 forecasts, there was a 685,000 acre-feet reduction in the projected natural flow to the Sacramento, Feather, Yuba, and American rivers. According to The Mercury News, Sierra Nevada snowpack was just 59% of normal on April 1 — after the second dry winter in a row — and hot weather in May melted much of the snowpack significantly faster than was projected. “Due to the worsening drought conditions, inflow to our reservoirs was less than we expected,” Mary Lee Knecht, a Bureau spokeswoman told the newspaper. “Conditions are so dry, the ...
