In summer, at high temperatures, automatic irrigation systems are a convenient and efficient way to care for plants without human intervention.
The main features of an automatic lawn irrigation system:
- Watering time. It is best to water in the evening or early morning because the water soaks into the soil instead of evaporating.
- It is better to water the plants with water at ambient temperature. Since the temperature of well water is usually lower, storage tanks are installed on the surface (or near it) to heat it naturally.
- Water consumption for lawn watering depends on several factors. There are soil type, grass type, weather conditions. As a rule of thumb, it is better to water rarely but abundantly.
- It is inadvisable to install strong dynamic sprinklers in and near flower beds. The water jet may break the flowers. Static sprinklers with a head that extends to a great height are the best option. That emulates rain and does not damage the plants.
Concept of an automatic lawn irrigation system with logic control
To create the right conditions for lawn care, an automatic irrigation system based on the Mini-PLC PR200 controller is suggested. The air temperature is measured by a DTS125L PT100 / PT1000 temperature sensor. The water pressure is fed to the sprinklers through the control valve is measured by a PD111 pressure transmitter. The system can also be equipped with a sensor that measures soil moisture. Water from the wells is collected in a storage tank. Irrigating is done by opening and closing valves according to the system settings. The water level in the tank is controlled by a two-level float sensor. A pump station, solenoid valves with sprinklers are needed to control the equipment. The irrigation pump is selected based on the water consumption of the system. The size of the area and irrigation requirements are significant in the selection of the pump station. The PR200 irrigation control algorithm considers air temperature and soil moisture. If the humidity is above the acceptable range, irrigation is stopped. Irrigation is not performed when the temperature is too low or high. The PR200 screen can display measured values (temperature, humidity).
It is also possible to display the most important parameters on the screen, control them manually, as well as the failure mode displaying.
Parameters in failure mode have the following values:
- P - pump state;
- H - moisture sensor state;
- T - temperature sensor state;
- L - water level sensor state;
- V1/2/3 - valve states;
- ± - equipment is working/not working.
Modernization opportunities
The system can be additionally equipped with a weather station. The weather changes and the need for irrigation will be monitored. These systems allow you to monitor air temperature and humidity, wind direction and speed, as well as the amount of precipitation. A cloud service can be used to monitor and control the system remotely via PC or phone. A network gateway is connected to the PR200. The system can work both in automatic as well as in manual mode.
An automatic irrigation system can bring significant benefits to the operation process:
- Landscape maintenance costs are reduced;
- The amount of water needed to water plants is reduced;
- The cost of purchasing plant material is lower because the rate of plant roots is increased. That is due to increased watering efficiency.
The introduction of automation in the park or square landscape maintenance will increase irrigation efficiency and benefit from the first days of operation.
