Landscape Irrigation Controllers

Did you know that there are an estimated 13.5 million irrigation systems currently installed in residential lawns across the United States and an additional 308,000 new systems are installed each year as a part of new home construction? Of the 13.5 million installed units, less than 10 percent use weather-based controllers to schedule irrigation, with the majority using standard clock timer controllers.

Weather-based irrigation controllers use local weather and landscape conditions to tailor irrigation schedules to actual conditions on the site or historical weather data. Instead of irrigating according to a preset schedule, advanced irrigation controllers allow irrigation to more closely match the water requirements of plants. These new control technologies offer significant potential to improve irrigation practices in homes, businesses, parks, and schools across the United States. WaterSense plans to label weather-based irrigation controllers and soil moisture sensors.

WaterSense has developed a draft Specification for Weather-based Irrigation Controllers. To earn the WaterSense label, controllers must be able to adequately meet the watering needs of a landscape without overwatering. Once the specification has been finalized, products will be independently tested and certified by a licensed certifying body to ensure that they meet these performance criteria. In addition, the draft specification proposes that labeled products must contain a number of supplementary features, such as the ability to hold multiple irrigation schedules, to ensure the product is capable of keeping up with ever-changing weather patterns and watering needs.

Replacing a standard clock timer controller with a WaterSense labeled irrigation controller or installing a labeled controller on a new irrigation system will help reduce water use in the landscape and save on water utility bills. Read the Weather-based Irrigation Controller Fact Sheet (PDF) (1 pp, 216K, About PDF) for more information on EPA's draft specification (PDF) (5 pp, 52K, About PDF).

Manufacturers, retailers, and distributors that produce or sell weather-based irrigation controllers will be able to join the program as WaterSense partners once EPA has processed and reviewed public comments. EPA will notify all interested parties when the program is open for partnership before the release of the final specification, in order to allow ample time to plan for the production and promotion of WaterSense labeled products.

Technical Information

Interested in finding out more about the draft specifications for weather-based irrigation controllers? Please visit the Weather-Based Irrigation Controller Specification page for more detailed information.