1.  Make sure that your rain sensor is working properly: All of our current customers have a rain sensor, and, when in good working order, this simple device can save you water and money, so it’s a good idea to check the sensor periodically. Make sure the sensor is ON, and not bypassed, and, if you have a wireless sensor, make sure to check the receiver next to your timer as it will let you know if the sensor’s batteries need to be replaced. If you would like our service technicians to replace the batteries for you, make sure to have the batteries available when they arrive for your spring start-up.


2. Program  your timer to water as little as possible: Experts recommend that your lawn get approximately one inch of water per week. When we set up your system, we set the 25 minute per zone watering schedule based on no rainfall at all. While we do our best to program our installed systems to your specifications, nobody knows your yard better than you do, so it’s up to you to program your timer to meet your yard’s needs.  Water your lawn in the early morning for best saturation. Note the zones that get a lot of shade, as those areas should retain moisture longer. Also, know your soil conditions. A good loam base will retain moisture longer, and require less watering (however, if your yard does not have a good loam base, more frequent watering will be required).  Remember, most timers can be programmed to water virtually anytime you want them to, so program your timer with this information in mind, and you’ll start seeing the difference in your water bill immediately.


3. Follow the Seasons: In the cooler temperatures of spring and fall, your lawn needs little to no watering, but when the scorching heat of summer rolls around, it’s as if your grass can’t get enough. Adjusting your timer to the seasons is an easy way to save money and conserve water. Limit watering in the spring and fall to once or twice a week. During the summer, take into consideration factors such as soil condition, sun exposure, and shade in each zone, and avoid watering established lawns during the heat of the day as you will lose moisture to evaporation.


4. Budget, Budget, Budget: We have budgets for everything else, so why not our sprinkler systems? Most digital timers allow for a “seasonal adjust” or water budget, which basically allows you to program the timer to run for a shorter (spring and fall) or longer (summer) period of time. By rotating the dial on your timer to the Seasonal Adjust or Water Budget setting, you will see a percentage number on the screen. If this setting hasn’t been adjusted, the reading will typically be 100%, meaning that that the zone times are set to what they were originally programmed. This simple feature allows you to increase or decrease the amount of time your lawn is watered for across the entire system. If, for example, at the 100%  setting your zones are set to water for 25 minutes, lowering that percentage to 90% will reduce your system’s watering time by 10%, across all zones, with each zone now set to water for 18 minutes. However, in the event that some zones require more or less watering time than others, a manual adjustment of each individual zone is recommended. Adjusting individual zones to meet their unique needs can result in tremendous savings. For example, if you have a zone with five heads, and you reduce that zone’s running time from twenty minutes to eighteen minutes, you could save up to twenty gallons of water per day. If you use your system every day from May to October that would be a savings of nearly 3,700 gallons of water for that one zone alone!

Hopefully this information has given you both a better understanding of your system and timer, as well as some ideas to help save you water and money.