Irrigation Association names new product contest winners

The Irrigation Association (IA) has unveiled the winners of its 2020 New Product Contest.

The contest is usually held during the annual Irrigation Show and Education Week, but this year the IA hosted it online. By going virtual, the new products and technologies entered in the contest were given expanded coverage through dedicated product profile pages on the IA’s Education Week+ website.

The 2020 New Product Contest was sponsored by Rain Bird Corp. For more information on the contest and to see a gallery of the products entered, visit here.

Thirty-one new products and technologies were entered in five categories. Products were evaluated based on innovation, design quality, increased water/resource-use efficiency, ease of use and product life expectancy. Contest judges were industry professionals with technical knowledge and expertise. Official judging was conducted via Zoom Nov. 16-17, and video presentations of all products can be viewed online.

The winner of the landscape irrigation category is the ESP-LXIVM with Smart Valve Technology by Rain Bird Corporation. The ESP-LXIVM is a high-capacity controller with Smart Valve technology. The innovative breakthrough is in the Integrated Valve Module, which relays valve status back to the controller and provides real-time monitoring of valves.

The winner of the landscape specialty category is E-Sport with Ribbed PE Hose by Irriland SRL. E-Sport is a self-propelled solar-powered traveling sprinkler with an innovative low friction coefficient tube. The eco-friendly machine is completely activated by an electric motor powered by solar energy, and with a series of batteries, it can be operated 24/7, 365 days a year.

The winner of the landscape lighting category is the AC-LVDD-1210 Low Voltage Digital Dimmer by Letzgo Products. This 12-v AC digital dimmer delivers up to 10 amps of smooth LED dimming, utilizing a trailing edge dimming to eliminate flicker when driving dimmable LEDs. It features solid-state (fuse-less) short-circuit protection with auto-restart, overload indication, transient protection and intelligent soft start.