Technical Information - Determining How Much and How Often to Water

Sprinkler systems are broken up into individual zones or sections that water specific areas. This provides the flexibility to enter in different watering times based upon the needs of the plant materials and the area being covered.

When entering a watering schedule or "program" into a controller, what’s the best way to determine the correct run time for each zone on your system?

Each system is different. Each landscape is different. Each soil is different. Plus there’s varying plant types and seasonal changes. All of these factors must go into an educated method of calculating "run times" for individual stations within a system.

You need to determine each zone’s precipitation rate (how quickly it applies water) and compare that to the area’s typical weekly irrigation requirements for residential lawns.

The more complex evapotranspiration method takes into account many potential variables and provides a more precise total run time requirement. This method requires a good understanding of the variables and how to apply the results.

Technical Sections
[Programming] [How much to water] [Simple Method] [Evapotranspiration Method] [Precipitation Rates] [Water Audits]

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