DON'T Water Your Lawn Unless You Have This!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 มิ.ย. 2024
- Are you tired of not knowing how long to run your sprinklers? Do you ever wonder if you are overwatering or underwatering your landscape? Have you ever thought there must be a better way? Well, in this video Andy speaks with Lawrence Ying from GeoDrops about their new Smart Soil Moisture Sensor that has the potential to revolutionize your sprinkler system.
GeoDrops works for all types of landscaping, including flower beds, vegetable gardens, and green lawns. GeoDrops also works for all watering methods, including manual garden hoses, traditional irrigation controllers, and smart irrigation controllers. It gives you peace of mind by continuously monitoring your garden and soil, and can even control your irrigation controller directly, dial down your water use on cloudy days, and know when to skip watering on rainy days.
00:00 Introduction
01:06 Sensor Accuracy
02:12 Sensor Durability
02:45 Wireless
Technical Specs
www.geodrops.com/tech-specs
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Did they say anything about the quantity of sensors one can have on one system?? I just want a system that can have at least a sensor per zone, or be able to have multiple sensors in a zone, to be able to fine tune different types of watering needs.
@MicahCrumpJr This is a great question, and yes, from what I understand it will be possible to have multiple sensors.
From my experience installing hundreds of moisture sensors and managing sites all over the USA, there is a point where adding more sensors has diminishing returns on the system performance. It is generally a misconception that you need 1 sensor per zone. Having multiple sensors per zone is more about data collection and analysis.
Ideally, you have 1 sensor per hydrozone grouping of zones.
In the future, we will likely have the ability to control each sprinkler individually (instead of as a group/zone), and that will bring the need for many more sensors...watering an entire area by "zone" is the limiting factor.
Love this topic 🤓
@@Andy_Humphrey oh! It's very hard finding information on moisture sensors for an amateur like myself 😄. I can see the future having control over each sprinkler head, like irrigreen.
I am probably doing it for the fun and data collection, but integrating bhyve's smart watering tech, with a system like ecowitt or geodrops through Home Assistant to control each zone will be a fun (probably frustrating) side project.
@@Mike335is Absolutely! Even just 1 sensor, combined with a simple "stay off until ____ moisture %" would be really helpful after a rain event.
@@Andy_Humphrey looking back at your previous comment, when you say "hydrozone" I am guessing that it has something to do with areas that have the same watering needs?? lawns should be considered a hydrozone, while gardens would be seperate?
@@Mike335is Exactly. Hydrozones are created based on the specific needs of different areas within a landscape. For example, zones with grass have different irrigation requirements compared to zones with shrubs. By grouping these zones together into hydrozones, you can minimize the number of sensors required. Example: 1 sensor to control grass, 1 sensor to control shrubs, etc. You can then make minor adjustments to each zone within the hydrozone grouping (less water for shade, more water for sun, etc.), while still using only 1 sensor to control the entire group. Not sure if this is how GeoDrops will build out their technology just an example of keeping it simple.
Another good analogy is the thermostat. Most homes have 1 thermostat, or, 1 for each level of the house, vs. 1 thermostat in every room ;)
This looks fantastic, excited to try it.
@DataEvangelist - I bet you'll love the insights and data 😉
I am a current Beta tester and am very excited to see how I can maximize my bermuda lawn in hot Phoenix, Az.
Glad to have you onboard and thanks for your feedback so far!
@Phxphenom - Fun! I'll see you in the beta group ✅
Maximize the Colorado river too please
@@steve50431 I don't know if we can actually take on the Colorado River issue, but we do want to democratize agricultural innovation for the masses, especially when it comes to water management that makes the plants look good.
I have been installing wired moisture sensors for many years with great success. I have had difficulty with above ground battery operated sensors. Both Rain Bird and Baseline are excellent and hamper proof. I will check the GeoDrops though.
Thanks for sharing, and I love that you have experience with Baseline sensors - a company I helped build (although we shifted all of the focus into the commercial markets) 🤓. Keep in touch!
Looking forward to checking these sensors out! I've been using some Ecowitt moisture sensors to help monitor lawn and potted plants but these sound like a step up for lawn use.
@CoreyStup - this is great, it sounds like you're already ahead of the curve and will easily understand the data!
Awesome! I want it!
Oh yeah, I'll take 3, please 😜
how is the sensor integrated to a Orbit smart timer so sprinklers won't turn on if a lawn is water saturated ?
So what do you think of the GeoDrop so far? I like mine but we are having calibration issues at the roots which never seem to dry out according to my App.....
Thanks for your help with the testing. You provided a lot of feedback that we're working on so far. These issues should be resolved soon, and the differences would be noticeable.
@Phxphenom my sensor is working great so far. From my experience using other sensors (primarily Baseline), it is common for the moisture at deeper depths not to fluctuate very much, and I think this is reflective in the GeoDrop Sensor. In fact, single depth Sensors that are buried too deep is a common installation error.
What irrigation controllers will integrate the geodrop data? Looking forward to compatibility with my Orbit B-Hyve system.
Awesome, the B-hyve is one of my favorites! As I understand, GeoDrops will be focusing on IFTTT integration and I'm not sure if b-hyve supports that (guess I'll ask Google ). Down the road they will have a *station* that will connect to any existing controller.
Thanks @@Andy_Humphrey for answering the question re: the integration. I don't believe B-Hyve supports it, but the GeoDrops Station should be able to take care of this via the Rain/Sense pin.
Which controllers have integrated these sensors? There are several on the market but I like that these use WifI for range.
Answered my own question. Impressive integration out of the gate! Is this done via API or hardwire like the rain sensor terminals?
Irrigation Controller Compatibility
Works with all irrigation valve controllers sold in U.S. and Canada
Examples include:
Hunter X-CORE, X2, PRO-C, ICC2, HC, HPC, PRO-HC, and HCC series
Orbit B-Hyve and Easy-Set series
Rachio all series
Rainbird SST, ST8, and ESP series
Toro EVOLUTION, TMC, and TDC series
Wyze Smart Sprinkler Timer
@@aquaman30k We will be prioritizing IFTTT integration with the Droplets, and then address the other controllers via the next product, GeoDrops Station.
Thanks for commenting - if you end up trying it out, let us know how it goes.
I'm very interested and would like to know the WIFI range as well. Anything I can do to cut my water bill down would be great as I have about 8000 Sqft of lawn.
Glad to hear from you! Typical home WiFi internet's range is 150 ft (or 45 m). Once the GeoDrops Station is available, it can connect to Droplets as far as 800 ft (240 m) away. I suppose you could try to set up a repeater network? This is something we will be discussing internally.
@daniealfitzgerald4089 - thanks for commenting! Curious, do you have a meter on your irrigation system? Preferably a digital meter you can read remotely. There are a few simplified calculations that can be used to determine if you are currently on target, or above/below, the estimated normal consumption.
@Andy_Humphrey I do not Andy. Any advice or brands to look at?
@@danielfitzgerald4089 at my home I use the Stream Labs Monitor. I recommend it 100%. It's pretty amazing. I actually have it on the main water supply so I can monitor all the water in my home (it can even read the filtered refrigerator water in real-time). It clamps on the pipe and connects to wifi and takes less than 10mins to install. www.streamlabswater.com/monitor - I am also testing the SimpleSub just for irrigation, however, it only updates 1 per day so it's not very useful for real-time monitoring or alarms/alerts. Here is a TH-cam video I made for it: th-cam.com/video/A6Ce1Az7obw/w-d-xo.html
@Andy_Humphrey Thank you for the detailed info. I am most interested in an accurate model for my for my outdoor line. I could connect in my basement. Is there a good reference somewhere on how much water each zone should be using for Blue grass?
Do they have integration with the Rachio?
I believe they are working on an integration using IFTTT. Then later on they will have a device you can attach to any existing controller to interrupt it via the rain sensor terminal.
I am very interested in this GeoDrops product. My main concern is the range of my home WiFi
Glad to hear from you! Typical home WiFi internet's range is 150 ft (or 45 m). Once the GeoDrops Station is available, it can connect to Droplets as far as 800 ft (240 m) away. I suppose you could try to set up a repeater network? This is something we will be discussing internally.
Excellent. If signal range becomes an issue for you, there are wifi extenders that are fairly inexpensive and pretty easy to setup. In fact, at my home, I use eero.com system, and have 5 wall-plug range extenders in various locations.
I am worried about battery life using WIFI. Have you considered zwave instead? Lower power, lower frequency, better range.
Thanks for the inquiry! We have considered Z-Wave. However, given the market trends, we're going with what we have. That being said, the GeoDrops system has software algorithm that addresses power consumption, so you can be rest assured of the battery life.
@devanbhagat7718 - great thought. I have tested various zwave & zigbee devices outdoors and the signal quality/range proved to be insufficient. Seems much better for indoor environments. I think GeoDrops in onto something here...
everything will depend on price