The wife and I invested in our first home a year and a few months ago. I'd decided from the get go that I wanted a smart home. We got a mega deal because we bought what is essentially a "cookie-cutter" home, ie: the builders plans and we pick a model - we couldn't make any changes. This was fine for us because why spend thousands on "upgraded" appliances and features when you can't even pick the ones you want? Better to start off cheap and then pay for what we want. That's a lot of preface for a sprinkler, but I'm going somewhere with this.
When you buy cheap and then pay for what you want, to me it ends up working out better. We made a big decision in buying our home and it's a place and home we plan to spend our lives in as long as no acts of God get in the way of that. So far I've been dutifully making my home smart. Starting with all light switches changed to occupancy/vacancy and or wifi/dimmer switches, all bulbs are now LED with some being Wifi/Dimmer capable, some smart cameras around the place, etc. When you're "smartifying" your home you can either do it all at once if you have that kind of money, do it cheapest to most expensive stuff or do it most expensive to cheapest. We're not rich, we're comfortable so I've taken the middle route, cheapest parts and ending with the more expensive stuff like appliances.
Where we live, our city has pretty strict rules regarding sprinkler systems - 2 days weekly for/between 4 hrs. Personally I don't know why. It rains during most of the year and whenever there's a drought there's a huge river and canals always filled to the brim but hey, they've gotta know something I don't, I've only been here for 2+ years. That being said, we had a basic sprinkler system, of course because when you buy a "cookie-cutter" home, almost everything you get as a part of the home is basic. As I said, that was fine for us. I'd put the controller as one of the later things to upgrade for the main reason that sprinklers are generally a set it and forget it thing. However ours was being slightly problematic. While it has a battery backup to keep settings, for some reason the time would be "off" due to power outages and of course, I'd have to head to change them whenever DST switched. Recently, we got our 2nd warning that the sprinkler was on when it wasn't supposed to be. This was due to a power outage that put our times off by about 10m. So they literally caught our system within that 10m "offf" window. I started getting serious into looking for smart or at the very least wifi enabled sprinkler controllers. .
Enter the Orbit. I'm so happy with the system that I'm here only a day later writing its praises. I took some time deciding on systems because initially they're pretty expensive when you look up "smart" controllers. Most of the devices I found were in the hundreds and just not worth it for me, many are 6 or 8 zone and I only needed 3. I was in shock when I was able to pick up the Orbit for what I got it for. Not only was it less than 1/2 the price of other smart controllers, it was also cheaper than the most basic smart controllers, so I was prepared to make some compromises as one should when devices are on the cheaper end of the spectrum vs. others in their category. I can gladly say, no concessions or compromises made. This thing does everything and more.
For one, with this controller you get a dual system. Many smart sprinkler controllers if you notice, have no head/base where they can be programmed. It must be done over/using the smartphone or a website. Not so with this system - you get a head unit that looks and behaves the same as a non wifi system where you can do everything you need to in terms of programming the system. This was a big deal for me because going back to what I said earlier, I'm a fan of value and I tend to look at things long term. How many cloud based companies have we seen shut down or change hands? If a product with a headless unit (ie: can't program from the base) has a cloud unit that shuts down, your sprinkler system is essentially useless for the most part because you no longer have a place to log into, to be able to access your system. The same could happen if the tech is bought out. If another company buys Rachio, just as an example and this company isn't interested in sprinkler systems, eventually that unit can no longer function because said company would have no need to keep the cloud going. There are 2 big differences with Orbit for me. The first is that the brand has been around for some time. I don't know irrigation products and I know 2 brand names, Hunter and Orbit so this was a good thing. For me this meant that it was highly unlikely for any of the shut down or sell out scenarios. I figured the worse case would be they sold to another irrigation company anyway. Secondly, the device is controlled both ways and independently. You can use it from the head unit solely, you can use it from the app or you can use it both ways. Finally, just like the other cloud/wifi sprinkler systems, it has a "smart" system that watches the weather for when it rains etc. and can smartly utilize your irrigation system. My system only has 3 zones because again, the builder created it all in a cheaper way. The pressure is really great in my home and the garden is no less. The entirely front left and side of my home is a zone running about ~6 sprinklers, the same for the right and then the back yard is a zone. So I have lots of sprinklers but only 3 zones and they run really well. My unit is installed on the outside of my home and many wifi sprinkler systems have to be installed inside or put into a special weather box externally. This unit comes fit for external use, so that saved me spending extra for either hiring someone to put it inside my garage or buy a box to put it into outside.
In the end, I have to say that I'm fairly happy. It took me about 30m to physically install the controller and another 10m to program it using the app. The 1st floor of my home is concrete so I was a bit worried about wifi strength through the wall but it gets 4 solid bars. Setup in the app is easy. You create an account and add the device - once it's powered on and detectable, the app will immediately tell you that the device has been located, where you can then connect to it. Once connected, that's it, you're good to go. I simply took a picture of where my cables were on my Hunter unit and moved them directly over. I did have to drill an extra hole because the same of the unit is different than the Hunter. Once I did what I had to, it just worked. I tested it by doing a 1m manual start of each zone to see exactly where and what my zones were and then I set my schedule so it will never water on non-water days for me but is completely free to water (or not) on my 2 set days with my 4 hour window. The app is super easy to use and easily understandable, really well made. As I mentioned, you can turn smart watering on, where it'll detect when it rains and can put off watering for a day or more. You can also program using restrictions like mine, only on certain days or odd/even days or have an interval. I won't go into details but I doubt anyone will find it lacking what they'd need. I really like it and am very happy with the system so far.
Conserves water compared to similar products.
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WaterSense
WaterSense
WaterSense is a voluntary partnership program sponsored by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The WaterSense label identifies products, homes, and programs that meet the EPA's criteria for water-efficiency and performance. WaterSense-labeled products and services are certified to use at least 20 percent less water, save energy, and perform as well as or better than conventional products on the market. Check out the WaterSense website to learn more about this program. WaterSense partners with manufacturers, retailers and distributors, homebuilders, irrigation professionals, and utilities to bring WaterSense to your community.
