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What can’t a smart phone do these days? They can unlock cars, hook up to home security systems, turn off the lights, and now they can control your sprinkler systems. Cyber Rain’s byline, “the irrigation controller with a brain” is apt. It “talks” with your sprinkler system, the weather forecast, and your landscaping to determine the optimal amount of watering. It saves around 40% on water bills, an important area to monitor as peak water starts to dictate municipal water pricing. So now we have a customizable sprinkler system that adapts to the environmental parameters of your property, not too shabby.
With both residential and commercial models, Cyber Rain has the potential to save entire communities water expenses and resource depletion. Yet, the tool wasn’t designed solely for the purpose of saving money. It connects property owners with their water use in a very personal way. The program alerts you when sprinklers have failed and it even tracks your water savings over time, a good advantage for businesses performing resource monitoring. The Cyber Rain website also provides a handy payback calculator that determines the amount of money saved and the relative payback period based on your current monthly water bills if you decide to invest in a system.
One of the top reasons plants die isn’t because they aren’t watered, but it is actually because they have been overwatered. Cyber Rain analyzes the specific landscaping of your property to better understand the water requirements of each plant and adjust watering accordingly. Having watched many sprinkler systems run during a rainstorm, the integration of real time weather looks like it will be a marked improvement from automated systems. With the opportunity to control multiple systems remotely, building managers and homeowners on vacation can both manage their sprinklers with a touch of their phone. That’s right, the iPhone has a remote control App for Cyber Rain. The systems are a bit pricey right now (there are rebates available), but considering the potential water savings both from a resource standpoint as well as a financial standpoint, this invention certainly has potential.
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Tiffany Finley started her sustainability journey while camping in the Boundary Waters in Northern Minnesota. Since then she has been dedicated to reconciling the industrial and the natural world views to create a hybridized mode of development toward sustainability. Majoring in Environmental Management in the US and then obtaining a Master's of Science in Strategic Leadership toward Sustainability in Sweden, she takes an analytical view based on science. She works with non-profits, small to medium businesses, and government organizations to strategize for sustainability in their respective sectors. Honored to join the writing cast at Triple Pundit, she looks forward to covering a wide range of sustainability news.
