Rain Bird’s ET Manager received a perfect score from the Irrigation Association’s Smart Water Application Technology (SWAT) initiative, a national program that identifies, researches and promotes technological innovations and related management practices that improve efficient water use.
The Rain Bird ET Manager uses real-time weather conditions to convert almost any irrigation controller into a weather-smart one that adjusts itself according to immediate weather data, keeping landscapes at the optimum moisture balance. The ET Manager features hourly wireless updates from local weather stations and uses the Irrigation Association-endorsed American Society of Civil Engineers’ standardized evapotranspiration (ET) equation, which factors solar radiation, temperature, wind and humidity data to calculate ET. The ET Manager filters this data and allows the controller to irrigate precise amounts of water only when the soil moisture balance reaches user-set levels.
Across all areas of SWAT testing, the ET Manager-enabled controllers were 100 percent efficient in meeting vegetation consumptive needs, avoiding runoff and maintaining root zone storage capacities. To view the ET Manager’s SWAT testing protocol and results, click here.