ET Water's GNOME offers consumers more accurate watering
11 Jul, 2011 i-news
NOVATO, CA — ET Water Systems July 6 launched GNOME, a free Web-based water calculator that provides customized irrigation schedules to homeowners based on their local weather conditions and landscape profile.
GNOME recommends just the right amount of water to use, frequently reducing water consumption by over-irrigators by 20% to 50% or more versus conventional clock-based "set it and leave it" irrigation schedules. The result is reduced water bills, better overall plant health and less runoff, which frequently is damaging to homes and the environment.
"GNOME is our first consumer offering for smart irrigation," said Mark Puckett, Product Manager at ET Water Systems. "Homeowners understand the hassle of setting reliable watering schedules — too short and the lawn burns, too long and you're overwatering."
GNOME creates monthly watering schedules based on local weather data from WeatherBug and adjusts for landscape characteristics such as:
Plant type - lawn, flowers and bedding plants, ornamental grass, high water use plants, low water use plants, and trees,
Soil composition - sandy, loam, clay, sandy loam, clay loam,
Slope - flat, gentle, medium, steep, very steep,
Sun exposure - sunny all day, partly sunny, shady all day,
Irrigation method - spray head, rotor sprinklers, rotating nozzle, drip emitter, bubbler, and micro spray.
Once set up, GNOME creates a customized monthly watering schedule that tells homeowners how long and how often to water. It also monitors weather conditions and emails the homeowner when major changes in the weather — from rain to heat waves — are predicted, reminding users to adjust their watering to meet changing conditions and landscape needs.
ET Water says that GNOME can create schedules for most leading brands of residential controllers. To sign-up for a free GNOME account, visit www.etwatergnome.com.
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