UNIFORM APPLICATION
A uniform application rate starts with proper system design. Sprinkler head spacing, operating pressure, pipe size and flow rate are all factors that must be evaluated when designing your system. There is no better way than to use CAD software to precisely calculate the values of these factors, and ensure they fall within acceptable limits.
EFFICIENT ZONING
As you might expect, you can’t run an unlimited amount of sprinklers off your water source. Eventually you reach a point where there is not enough water to run them all and they won’t even pop up. For most homes in Calgary, the water source is too small to run all the sprinklers that you would need at the same time. This is why most irrigation systems need to split into segments called zones. This means only a group of sprinklers can operate at any one time, with electronic valves automatically cycling through all zones until watering of your whole property has been achieved.
For instance, a hypothetical property might have two zones, one for the front yard and one for the back yard. When then sprinklers are scheduled to run, only the front sprinklers (zone 1) activate for a scheduled amount of time, let’s say 20 minutes.
After that cycle is complete, they turn off and the back sprinklers (zone 2) will activate for 20 minutes. Watering for your whole property would then be complete. The average property in Calgary need 4 to 6 zones for full coverage, although this can vary substantially. Determining the correct size and layout of these sprinkler zones is easily achieved with CAD software. This will lead to long term water savings.
