The Smart Water Application Technologies initiative, under the Irrigation Association, submitted a product testing protocol for “smart” irrigation controllers to the EPA. The eighth draft of the protocol is the industry’s first to be sent to the EPA for consideration in the WaterSense product labeling program
“Smart” controllers are climate-based irrigation controllers and are sometimes called weather-based or ET controllers. They work by monitoring weather conditions to determine irrigation settings. These types of controllers do not require ongoing monitoring once properly installed and programmed.
The protocol is available at www.swatirrigation.org. The comment period on the draft ends October 27.