Conserve water, save money, reduce wear and tear, prevent plant disease.
When gardening or a healthy lawn is your passion, a well-equipped irrigation system is a necessity. Installing rain sensors will ensure that your irrigation system is deactivated during rain and freezing weather, helping to conserve water which, if you are on a municipal water line, will also help to save money on your water bill.
Incorporating rain sensors in irrigation systems offer numerous other advantages. The devices interrupt any automatic cycles scheduled after enough accumulation of water has been achieved. This will additionally reduce wear and tear on irrigation systems and are useful in the prevention of plant diseases caused by overwatering.
To ensure their effectiveness, however, rain sensors should be mounted in open areas such as rooflines or on tall fences where there are no restrictions from rainfall by impediments like awnings and tree limbs. Rain sensors should additionally be mounted high enough that the irrigation system itself does not interfere with the device. They do require cleaning and inspection from time to time, especially on their funnels, to remove debris usually created by birds and trees. It is advisable to test run these devices occasionally each year, and should they not function optimally, cleaning, repair, or repositioning might be required. In some cases replacement may be required.
Some of the newer rain sensors are now wireless, making it ideal to select the best location for the sensor to better receive accurate rainfall readings. These sensors typically come with one or two 3 volt batteries that, in a Canadian climate, usually require replacement every 1 - 2 years. The main advantage of the wireless rain sensors is that they can be bypassed or adjusted from the controller receiver rather than up at the actual unit, which is the case with the standard hardwired units
