Rachio survey shows value of smart sprinkler controllers

August 16, 2022 - By LM Staff

According to a survey of homeowners, Rachio found it helped U.S. homeowners save 50 billion gallons of water with its water-efficient controllers. In this survey of 1,076 U.S. homeowners, the company found one-third currently live with water restrictions due to drought conditions. One in five homeowners (20 percent) surveyed said they were unaware that many states have water restrictions today due to drought conditions in their region.

The EPA estimates that up to 50 percent of the water Americans use outdoors is wasted due to inefficient irrigation methods and systems.

“Our goal at Rachio is to continue to educate about the importance of smarter water conservation, which we believe leads to action,” Kim Sentovich, Rachio CEO, said. “While smart irrigation controllers are a key piece of the solution, we encourage people to make smart, sustainable decisions about their landscaping overall.”

According to data from Rachio’s survey:

Homeowners in areas with water restrictions are three times as likely to have adjusted their landscaping to limit water usage, versus those without restrictions (32 percent vs. 11 percent).
An additional 52 percent of homeowners in areas with water restrictions plan to make landscaping changes to move to more drought-resistant options. Only 24 percent of homeowners who are not facing watering restrictions plan to proactively make their landscapes more drought resistant.
Nearly 20 percent of homeowners with water restrictions have removed lawns, which tend to have high water needs, versus 6 percent living without restrictions.
Homeowners in drought areas are also 2.5 times more likely to have a smart irrigation controller (24 percent vs. 10 percent), and 3.5 times more likely planning to install one (24 percent vs. 7 percent).
Of the homeowners living with current water restrictions, 70 percent fully comply with local watering guidelines. Meanwhile, 12 percent admit to having run extra watering cycles, 9 percent struggle to comply with local restrictions and 4 said they will not comply.