Reducing turfgrass water consumption using sensor nodes and an adaptive irrigation controller

This paper describes a complete wireless sensor and irrigation control system that reduces water consumption for residential turfgrass irrigation. It has been estimated that 50-75% of residential water use is for irrigation. Current systems are exceptionally poor at adapting irrigation to meet demand, primarily due to incomplete information for system operators who rely either on visual inspection or periodic irrigation programs. This results in over-watering and fertilizer and soil leaching. Our approach couples easy-to-deploy wireless soil moisture sensors nodes with an adaptive irrigation controller that waters on demand without user input. The result is a system that requires less user intervention, lowers water consumption, and adapts to changing climatic conditions.