As many areas in the country and world regularly face droughts and water shortages, new water-saving technologies are helping homeowners and businesses significantly reduce both their costs and water consumption. One such innovation is Irrigreen, a smart sprinkler system that precisely maps out your property to “print” water only where it’s needed.
Irrigreen is an AI-powered irrigation platform with an internet-connected interface that lets homeowners control and monitor their irrigation needs via an app, optimizing water usage. It features a single sprinkler unit that covers approximately 2,000 square feet, delivering efficient and targeted irrigation. The digital system contrasts sharply with standard sprinklers, which rely on oscillating water heads that often overlap and can routinely overwater (or underwater) certain areas.
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And because fewer water heads are needed, the in-ground system uses 80% less piping and trenching than conventional options.
“Traditional systems use dozens of sprinkler heads to create overlapping spray patterns, which creates a lot of water waste,” says CEO of Irrigreen Shane Dyer. “Irrigreen is unique because just one of our robotic sprinkler heads replaces about six to 10 mechanical heads from traditional systems and uses precision spray technology to trace the contours of your landscaping perfectly.”
According to Dyer, the single-head system leverages artificial intelligence to cut water usage in half. Specifically, Irrigreen integrates weather data from the cloud to deliver customized watering plans based on a user’s location. Other factors, such as the type of grass, the amount of sunlight the property receives, and the type of soil, are also taken into account to create an individualized watering pattern.
“After connecting the Irrigreen system through the app, it’s able to collect the weather data in your specific location and it uses this data to automatically adjust watering duration and schedules,” says Dyer. Irrigreen, for instance, would forgo watering during periods of heavy rain or adjust water levels when it is cloudy. Even better, the interface becomes more effective over time as it continuously learns from local weather data.
Prices run between $2,000 and $5,000—on the upper end for most sprinkler systems—but when considering long-term savings, the company claims it’s an investment that will pay off in three to five years.
Nationwide, Americans use approximately 9 billion gallons of water per day to keep their lawns green. This accounts for nearly one-third of all residential water consumption, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
As water becomes more scarce, technologies that can reduce water waste will become increasingly important. By creating a digital map of your property to deliver water only where you need it, Irrigreen is ushering in a new generation of advanced, AI-driven irrigation.
Nathalie Voit is a freelance content creator and a graduate of the University of Florida. She is an alumni of The Heritage Foundation’s Young Leaders Program.
The views and opinions expressed are those of the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of C3.
