What is this website about?
Irrigation-guide.com is an online guide for all those who are thinking of installing a home irrigation system on their own or are looking for individual answers to detailed home irrigation questions.
A few years ago I was faced with the same question: Continue to stand in the garden for hours and laboriously water the lawn and garden plants with the garden hose, or invest some time and money in the implementation of an automatic irrigation system. The decision was quickly made in favor of automatic irrigation. The biggest challenge was gathering the necessary knowledge: How do you even start, which system should you use and in which order is it best to carry out which steps? I found the necessary information laboriously and time-consuming on various websites, in online forums and in the product information of the manufacturers. As far as this was at all possible, because surprisingly little or no information was available on many details to be clarified, so that I was often only able to find out many details by the trial and error method.
My automatic home irrigation project was ultimately successful, the irrigation system has been in use for several years without any problems. Irrigation systems implemented together with friends and relatives also run to the fullest satisfaction.
The realization of an irrigation system is no book with 7 seals and also possible for the technically unsophisticated, but motivated layman – as I was back then. I don’t come from the industry, nor did I ever deal with the topic before my private irrigation project. Precisely because of this, I believe that I can put myself in the shoes of the average consumer. I pass on the knowledge I have gathered and gradually expanded in the course of the project here on the website.
The information is structured in project form, from the initial information and planning, through the specific purchase decision and the assembly of the system to the final implementation of the control including programming, so that you can go through the individual stages step by step.
I would be delighted if the information offered here helps you to save time, money and effort and I wish you every success with your home irrigation project!
Johann Kodnar, webmaster
Step by step to your own home irrigation system
Advantages of a Do-it-yourself home irrigation installation:
Myths and facts about home irrigation
Unfortunately, it is not that simple in practice. Even if the lawn is consistently moist after watering, that doesn’t mean you’ve done everything right. The magic word is “even watering”, meaning that all areas receive the same amount of water at the same time. Otherwise it can happen that some areas become brown due to a lack of water, or that some areas get too much water and you continually waste water or waterlogging occurs. The planning pages explain how to do it right.
As with every topic, it is also necessary here to deal with the topic at least a little before starting the project. If you are willing to do so, an automatic irrigation can also be easily implemented by a motivated do-it-yourselfer. The criterion is less manual dexterity than good planning. Everything you need can be found here on the website.
The running costs mainly consist of the water costs. For smaller gardens these are rather low, for larger gardens they increase proportionally to the irrigation area. If you have your own well, you can save it. Apart from that, there are still low electricity costs for the pump and battery / electricity costs for the irrigation computer and possibly solenoid valves. The construction costs depend on the size of the system and whether you build it yourself or have it built by professionals. A small, simple system that you build yourself and control manually starts at around 300 to 400 USD, for a larger 5000 square feet lawn with professional control with an irrigation computer and solenoid valves, a do-it-yourself implementation costs between 1,500 and 2,000 USD. If you have the system implemented by a professional instead, you have to calculate the costs at least 2.5 times. You can find detailed information and calculation examples in the blog post on the costs of automatic irrigation.
Exactly the opposite is the case! Compared to manual irrigation, optimally coordinated, even irrigation can save water. This is achieved by watering the lawn and plants only as much as is necessary. Modern sprinklers also ensure slow, gentle irrigation so that the water can be completely absorbed by the plants.
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