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On average, it takes about minutes to install your unit, and most devices nowadays come with setup kits. These mounting kits provide you with everything you need to install it inside or outside your house. Make sure to check the product description to find whether there is a weather-resist encasement.
The Pro model has a separate master-valve terminal, so that model is a better fit if you need 16 zones. We also found the RainMachine app confusing, and even though it has all of the alerts we think are necessary, the offline notification never worked in our testing. As a workaround, we used RainMachine’s IFTTT integration to alert us when the device went offline. To help you understand what data the companies you’re bringing into your yard are harvesting, we asked them to complete a privacy and security questionnaire. Here are the results, to help you determine whether you’re comfortable with purchasing these devices. Jennifer Pattison Tuohy has been a writer and editor for more than 20 years and has spent the past decade trying to live a greener lifestyle .
Hydrawise Pro-HC 24-Station Irrigation Controller
Although the controllers in the study have all responded appropriately to rainfall, the authors speculate that adding a rain sensor could help prevent smart controllers from possibly overwatering. Their study is ongoing, and they haven’t singled out a specific controller yet, though their testing does indicate that some models are better for certain landscapes than others. For more, you can read the 2018 report , which contains a detailed breakdown of how each controller operated in different landscapes. Jennifer writes about smart-home technology and sustainable living for Dwell Magazine, US News & World Report, Wired, and The Ambient, among others. She has spent countless hours testing smart-home devices—including smart thermostats, smart garage-door controllers, and smart smoke alarms—for Wirecutter. And she has lived in homes with underground sprinkler systems for 17 years, experience that has provided plenty of hands-on time with electronic controllers.
This is a pretty handy feature, especially if you live in an area that gets heavy rains during the summer. The Orbit B-Hyve takes the number one spot on our best home sprinkler controller list for its wide array of features, affordable price point, and overall ease of use. This is a fantastic choice for those looking to maintain their yard from anywhere. Featuring Orbit’s signature B-Hyve smartphone app, which is pretty smooth and intuitive to use, and home-assistant compatibility, you have full control over your yard with the touch of a button or a few words spoken to Alexa.
App Controlled
This allows the controller to find the weather forecasts from your local weather station and to adapt to changing weather patterns in real-time. Thus, if you have a watering schedule set for every day of the week and the next few days’ forecast is calling for rain, the controller will not program the sprinklers to run because of the upcoming weather. This helps you tremendously in saving money on your water bill as well as it helps you from overwatering your lawn and getting excess moisture, which can be damaging to your plants and soil. Netro’s Spark smart sprinkler controller offers a touchscreen with basic on-device controls and support for 16 zones. It has some great features other controllers don’t offer, such as options to specify the species of plants in your garden and to customize rain delays up to three days before and after rainfall to maximize water savings.
And thanks to Alexa and Google Home integration, you have many options for coordinating the system with other smart home functions. I feel this is a good site with a wide range of products, and I provide product-appropriate content to advise people. With many years of experience and a professional working style on products, I think I have enough experience and knowledge to bring satisfaction to everyone. I have many years of experience and research in this field, so I can make a reasonable choice of products for lawns and gardens. This can help you take care of them in the best way, saving you time and effort.
The Best Smart Garage Door Opener Controller
Thus, it really comes down to what amount you’re willing to invest in a unit. We’ve broken down some examples of the products into three different pricing categories to simplify it for you. We’ve named this as one of the best for indoor use as the indoor housing gives a level of protection that a lot of sprinkler controllers simply can’t offer. Using a keyed lock, it’s also very easy to control and protect from other curious fingers. The manufacturers have also included a 2-year warranty, so you can rest assured that your purchase is protected.
RainMachine’s app works well and gives you all the control you need; you just may need to tap through a few screens to get to it all. Lastly, a small point, but Rachio has a nag advertisement in its app for a subscription to its Thrive yard-care service—and you can’t get rid of it. We’ve updated this guide to reflect that our pick, the Rachio 3, now comes in a four-zone model.
We’ve observed several instances when other controllers set rain delays due to forecasted events that didn’t actually happen, and in every case the Rachio 3 wasn’t similarly fooled by the meteorologist. Anyone who has a sprinkler system operated by a mechanical or electronic timer should consider upgrading to a smart controller, also known as a weather-based controller. Thanks to smartphone control, they are much easier to program—some do it all for you—and can reduce water use by employing real-time weather data to decide if and when to water your yard.
Once you've answered these questions, compare potential products and find one that offers what you need at an affordable price. There are two main types of wifi sprinkler controllers—those with their own app and those without. For those with their own app, you can set up your irrigation system from anywhere in the world as long as you have an internet connection. Another important feature of a sprinkler controller is watering scheduling. This allows you to set a specific schedule that is tailored to the needs of your garden.
One of the major benefits of modern sprinkler control systems is that many of them connect to your home’s Wi-Fi. This makes them easy to control and integrate with other devices in your home or garden. Continue reading for a comprehensive rundown of the best sprinkler controllers.
A smart controller also automatically adjusts watering based on the season, so once you set it up, you don’t have to reprogram it. A hardwired sprinkler controller is wired into your home similarly to a thermostat. It sends signals to your in-ground irrigation setup about when to water your lawn, what zones to water, and how much water to use.
It also comes with a waterproof outdoor enclosure to protect your system and camera. While many of the options in this list have included apps and are compatible with Alexa and other home assistants, this Netro controller takes smart to another level. If you’re looking for an intuitive sprinkler system controller that works seamlessly with your smart home, then this Netro is a perfect choice. In fact, some users might actually prefer the straightforward design of this model compared to some of the other, more involved options.
But the app has no notifications at all, and the device doesn’t work with wired rain or soil-moisture sensors; it’s compatible only with its own Whisper sensor, which was unreliable in our testing. You really get a lot of great functions with these smart sprinkler controllers, and another one of them is the automatic weather updates. Because these devices are connected via Wi-Fi, these sprinkler controllers are able to access weather updates and use weather forecasts to control the amount of water that will go out from your lawn sprinklers. If it was raining overnight, the sensors can detect the moisture and react accordingly. It can choose not to turn on the sprinklers at all or turn them but not for a long time.
Keeping that concern in mind, we evaluated how each controller responded to changes in weather during testing and whether it allowed us to select a weather station versus a data source chosen by the controller. The EPA says that a WaterSense controller could save the average home 7,600 gallons of water a year . If every home in the US that had a sprinkler system followed suit, that could save 120 billion gallons each year, not to mention $435 million in water costs. Lastly, the Rachio 3 features Wi-Fi and it even works with Alexa for easy control while at home.
"It is a great indoor controller for your irrigation system that allows you to control the water flow without even having it exposed outdoors." If you’re looking for a system that conserves water and is environmentally friendly, we recommend narrowing your search down. Almost all of the options on our list were picked with this feature in mind.
