Weekend warriors are taking back their downtime by outsourcing lawn maintenance to AI-controlled sprinklers.
Aussie homeowners know a healthy lawn is more than just a simple backyard. It’s a grassy suburban kingdom, a symbol to passersby that you emerged victorious from the country’s housing market hellscape with a slice of land to call your own.
But running that kingdom comes at a cost. The average Aussie is forking out around $690 every year on taking care of their lawns and can spend up to 70 hours every year over weekends and afternoons maintaining their luscious look.
So, in the hopes of reclaiming some free time (and money), homeowners are now turning to smart garden tech to make watching the grass grow even easier.
What is ‘smart watering’?
Smart watering (or smart irrigation) ditches the hand-held hose and timer sprinklers to automate the process with AI. The technology upgrade automatically controls your water usage, preventing costly runoffs so your lawn can get all the water it needs, but not a drop more.
These systems use WiFi to connect to your phone, tablet, and controller, allowing homeowners to rest easily knowing their lawns and gardens are taken care of even when they’re not at home.
What are the benefits of smart sprinklers?
Slash water bills
With the nation officially in a cost-of-living crisis, the number one reason most Aussie homes are switching to smart irrigation systems is (understandably) to save money.
In an effort to lower utility costs, the watering system will actually measure exactly how much water lawns and gardens need to thrive, delivering exactly the right amount without a drop wasted.
But that’s not all. The smart system will also determine the moisture already in the soil, adjust its output accordingly, and even turn it off on days when it rains to save you money.
Predicts the weather
There’s nothing worse than spending hours in the afternoon watering your lawn, only to have it bucket down rain the next morning.
Well, a smart system will actually use predictions from weather services to decide when to water your lawn and how much is needed to keep your garden looking green.
But it doesn’t just turn off if it sees rain on the way. If the system predicts multiple dry days are about to hit the lawn, it will anticipate and redistribute the water accordingly so you get the best bang for your buck.
Cutting down on water storage
Storing and transporting water throughout your property can quickly get very expensive, especially if you’re on a large plot of land. Not to mention that moving hoses around, swapping nozzles, and trying to tidy it all quickly becomes more trouble than it’s worth.
Since your system will help you significantly lower the amount of water needed to water your lawn, you won’t need to store nearly as much. That’s a huge savings, and it may even help to lower your property taxes.
Protect the water supply
With so much concern over climate change, homeowners need to do their part to protect our local communities and their water sources and supplies, especially in drought-prone parts of the country.
A smart system ensures that homeowners meet the water restrictions of their suburb, reducing community water waste and saving water for other important home utilities.
This would also allow everyone in the community to water their lawns and maybe even inspire others to go green.
It’s just easier
How many times have you forgotten to turn off your sprinklers at night? How much water have you wasted over the years because you didn’t turn off the garden tap all the way?
With a smart watering system, all the hard work is done automatically for you, so you can stop micro-managing your lawn.
Let your system handle the hard work so you can focus on the more important things in life, or grab a chair, crack a beer and watch the grass grow.
