For farmers, one of the most important pieces of equipment is the irrigation system. With the right system in place, farmers can ensure that their crops get the water they need to thrive.
However, with so many different types of irrigation systems on the market, it can be difficult to know which one is right for your farm.
Here is everything you need to know about automation irrigation systems.
What Is Automatic Irrigation
Automated irrigation systems are designed to allow you to apply water with the push of a button. Once the system is activated, it will fill up the necessary reservoirs and start sending water to your crops.
In 2019, the controller segment led the market, accounting for more than 30% of the worldwide irrigation automation market revenue. With an automatic irrigation system, you can make sure that your crops have all they need to grow healthy and strong.
For example, this kind of system may have a timer built in so that it will only run during certain hours or days per week. This way, the watering can be limited depending on the needs of your plants or trees.
How An Automatic Irrigation System Can Help You Save Water
Although you probably don’t want to get an automatic irrigation system in order to save water, it can help you accomplish this task. Since these systems run only when the soil is dry, they will ensure that plants don’t receive too much or too little water.
As a result, you will be able to prevent the risk of your plants dying and having damaged stems from too much water. Real-time based automation is predicted to be the fastest-growing category of the irrigation automation market, with a CAGR of over 18% during the forecast period.
Since most automatic irrigation systems use sensors in order to detect moisture levels, they can automatically turn on when there is a need for watering. When the sprinklers are running automatically and there’s no way of turning them off until the job is finished, they will know when it is time to stop watering.
The Efficiency Of Automation In Irrigation
Historically, it was until 60 years ago when irrigation system were created to automate irrigation actions. Before then, the manual farm labor was primarily used as the major method to do an irrigation job.
However, with the emergence of technology and its growth in the 20th century, these systems became available for public use. Although they were initially costly and hard to obtain, today they are accessible and affordable for everyone.
Today’s automatic systems are highly efficient and reliable in use. They are easy to install and can produce a significant amount of work within a short period of time.
Benefits Of An Automatic Irrigation System
The Western Australian government granted a discount for a weather smart and automated irrigation controller to Perth residents in September 2019. Lawn irrigation is the process of watering your lawn to keep it healthy and green.
Garden hoses are a common way to do this, but there are also many different types of irrigation systems available. Irrigation scheduling is important to ensure that your lawn gets the right amount of water. Garden hoses can be used for both irrigation and other gardening tasks such as watering plants.
1. Saves Time
One of the biggest benefits of an automatic irrigation system is that it will save you time. You won’t have to spend hours and hours making sure your plants are watered properly. The system can be set to run at specific times and will take care of the rest.
2. Notifies You If There Are Problems
There are certain conditions that could affect your irrigation system and cause it to malfunction. For example, if you have a leak, your water levels could drop too low for the system to work properly. An automatic irrigation system will notify you immediately so that you can find and repair the problem before it becomes irreversible damage.
3. Efficient Use Of Water
The type of irrigation system you are using will depend on the number of acres you are going to manage. For example, if you have a small garden, you may not need a very large system that can provide enough water for an entire farm. As such, the type of irrigation system you choose will depend on how much water your farm needs to be properly watered.
4. No More Running Taps
As stated before, running taps or pipes can cause any number of problems such as leaks and breakages. If you aren’t careful, these mistakes could cost you thousands of dollars in repairs that wouldn’t have occurred had they been avoided in the first place.
An automatic irrigation system will streamline your irrigation process by running water automatically through the pipes to make sure your crops are getting the water they need.
5. Works Well In Hot Or Cold Weather
The irrigation automation market’s sensors category is predicted to be the fastest-growing segment, with a CAGR of roughly 18% from 2020 to 2027. Because an automatic irrigation system is designed to work automatically, you don’t have to worry about it not working when it gets too hot or too cold.
In fact, these systems tend to work better in extreme temperatures because they allow for more precision when watering crops. If you want your plants to survive sudden changes in weather such as heat waves, you need a self-watering system that will give them exactly what they need without having to do any extra work on your part.
6. Reduces Water Waste
One of the most frustrating things about using standard water pipes to water your crops is that you may only apply a very small amount of water since the main flow is going to waste. If this is happening, you are wasting up to 50% of the total amount of water that you could be using for irrigation.
However, with an automatic irrigation system, this will not happen since the system takes care of all watering needs automatically. The only thing you need to do is select when the system should be turned on and off.
7. Keeps Your Garden Beautiful
One thing farmers love about their gardens is seeing how well their crops are looking and feeling during certain times of year. If you are using an automatic irrigation system, this will be a lot easier to achieve because it will keep check on the water levels in the garden so that you can make sure they are being watered at the right time.
Even if your crops don’t look as great as they would like, they will still thrive since they will always have the right amount of water and nutrients.
8. No More Watering If Rain Hasn’t Occurred
Another frustrating thing about running pipes is not knowing if you are wasting water during certain weather conditions. For example, suppose there is a rain storm happening but you aren’t able to see any rainfall in the distance.
If you continue running water, you could be wasting this precious resource since the rain will eventually come when it’s needed the most. An automatic irrigation system will only run when the skies are clear so that you never have to worry about wasting water again.
9. Senses When Plant Needs Watering
Most automatic irrigation systems are capable of sensing when your plants need watering. In fact, some systems can even tell how much water a plant has received and how much it needs in order to thrive. As such, these systems will let you know if there is a problem or if your plants’ needs are being met.
10. Provides Precision Watering
One of the major benefits of an automatic irrigation system is that it will give your plants the exact amount of water they need in order to thrive. Irrigating systems have a certain set amount of water seepage and flow rate in order to ensure that each plant receives exactly what they need.
If you are using an irrigation system with too little or too much water, it will result in damaged crops and wasted money. However, with one that is calibrated properly, you may never have to think about watering again since your plants will be receiving the exact amount they need every time.
Drawbacks Of Automatic Irrigation System
The worldwide irrigation automation market is anticipated to be worth USD 8.96 billion by 2027, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.8% over the forecast period.
The natural gas control board is responsible for the distribution of natural gas and the acquisition of data. They use rain sensors to monitor the amount of water that is being distributed.
1. Buying Costs
For those who don’t know, purchasing an automatic irrigation system can be a little pricey. You may end up spending thousands of dollars on water bills each year if you aren’t careful with how you use it. This is why it is important to learn as much as you can about the different types of systems so that you know exactly what to look for when purchasing one.
2. Needing A Large Space To Install It
The majority of automatic irrigation systems are designed to work in farms and ranches that have many acres covered by crops. It will be more difficult to install one in a small space as compared to larger areas where there are fewer places that need watering.
3. Having To Water It Often
As mentioned before, some irrigation systems are designed to run forever with no maintenance required. On the other hand, others require that you stop watering in order for them to continue working properly.
Although they may work great when they are running automatically, they may not work so well when there is a need for you to manually water them since the connection between them and the hose will be damaged.
4. No Automatic Shutoff Feature
When your plants start getting dry, it can be hard to know when it is time to turn off the system so that your crops don’t suffer from dying plants and damaged stems (from using too much water).
In order to avoid this issue, you might need to turn off the system manually. Although it is not a big deal, it can still be inconvenient because you will have to make sure that the system is switched off before going indoors.
5. Potential Issues With A Water Bill
When automatic irrigation systems are not used properly and when they run constantly, they can cause damage to your water pipes which may result in a large water bill at the end of the month. If this happens, find out exactly how much is being used whenever you turn on your sprinkler system so that you can be more careful next time around.
6. Using Too Much Water
Most automatic irrigation systems will tell you when you need to turn it on and when you need to turn it off. However, if you don’t pay attention, the sprinkler may end up watering the whole area which can result in a large bill.
When in doubt, it might be best to limit the amount of water that is being used by the system so that your water bill remains lower in the long run.
7. Keeps You Awake
One thing that most people don’t know about automatic irrigation systems is that they are loud while they are running. They tend to be very annoying since they sound like a lawn sprinkler. Therefore, you will probably have to wake up earlier in the morning or stay up later at night to tend to these gardens if you decide to use an automated irrigation system.
Different Types Of Automatic Irrigation Systems
There are many types of automatic irrigation systems, but they all have one goal: to control irrigation based on soil moisture sensors. Such a system can be very helpful for farmers, as it can help reduce water usage and save time.
An irrigation system is a system used to water crops, typically using soil moisture sensors to automatically irrigate when needed. There are many different types of irrigation systems, but the most common are automatic irrigation systems, which can be either centralised or decentralised.
1. Sprinkler
A sprinkler is an inexpensive type of automatic sprinkler which consists of a small tank, a reservoir, and a sprinkler system attached to the hose. When you fill the tank with water, it will spray water onto the soil.
The tank may also have little holes in order to allow for water that seeps to flow through it. As such, sprinklers will light up liquid when they are watering which makes them one of the most common types of automatic irrigation systems.
2. Hand Pumps
The hand pump is one of the oldest ways to provide water to plants and flowers because it has been around since the 1800s. Hand pumps may look a little different nowadays since they can include a waterproof case for the motor and the hose.
However, the basic concept remains the same – turn on the water, set the dial to what area you want to water, and then press a button in order to provide water.
3. Irrigation Systems
The market was driven by the time-based automation type segment, which accounted for more than 30% of the worldwide irrigation automation market revenue in 2019. The irrigation system is an automatic sprinkler which will not only provide you with an automated way of watering plants but it will also ensure that they are watered in a uniform manner.
There are many types of irrigation systems that can be used for both outdoor and indoor plants. You can also choose from several different types of motors that run on solar energy or electricity for added convenience.
Final Word
Although some automatic irrigation systems aren’t worth it, others are quite cheap and easy to install. You may even be able to install one yourself if you are handy with tools.
Therefore, just because an automatic sprinkler is more expensive than a manual one, this doesn’t mean that it is a bad idea.
Instead, it might be a good idea since you will save money on water bills and there isn’t any chance of water damage.
Last Updated on September 29, 2023 by Priyanshi Sharma
