In the May 2017 issue of irrigation and green industry magazine they mentioned me in their article about wireless irrigation controllers and their benefits.
Back in the early part of the last century an exciting invention called the “wireless” was the word of the day! Radio was not only brand new, it was transformative… suddenly the world was different, linked, for the first time, by mass communications.
Here in 2017 wireless is again a hot topic. But this time the context is the new smart – home Internet of things. Technology that uses wireless radio signals to work it’s magic. Smart irrigation controllers are joining that revolution.
The magazine contacted me for an interview. Here it is what they wrote: “We asked Doug Brown the president of The Sprinkler Doctor Inc. in St. George Utah what he likes most about Wi-Fi controllers, he cites their design and ease-of-use. These units look great, are easy to understand. They tell me when the water is on, whether they’re in standby mode or have lost Wi-Fi reception. I get an alert over my phone if there’s a solenoid short on a valve, or something else is wrong with a clients system.
Sky Drop referred them to me as I have installed over 40 timers within the last year.
So for a little update on the Smart controllers and how they are working out I would say fabulous. I have had only one call back from a customer with issues. On two others I called the customer when I received an alert. One of them I went and troubleshooted the field wiring finding a shorted solenoid. If I hadn’t gotten the alert the grass on that zone may have suffered before the customer had noticed it wasn’t watering.
On my own timer at my house I have noticed how accurately the timer adjusts itself to the changing weather conditions. Kind of amazing but these smart controllers really do work, saving water.
Everyone now carries a smart phone with them and they can have the touch control on their automatic controller not only a block away from their home but if they are on the other side of the world. Any station can be remotely turn on or off at will. Very user friendly even with many different programming adjustments that can be made. It’s easy to understand and implement.
My customers still have the option of me putting them on a dashboard where as I can remotely bring up their timer and make adjustments on my laptop from anywhere. It’s also very convenient when doing seasonal or monthly adjustments, I pull up to their house, pull their timer up on my phone walk around the yard turning the different stations on and off as I need without ever having to get in side the garage to wear their physical controller is located.
The wireless remote Wi-Fi irrigation controllers are here to stay.
