How Does Automated Control Work?

Automated Control: Moving from "Variable Duration" to "Variable Frequency"

Automated control (or servo-control) consists of automating an irrigation strategy based on "fixed duration, variable frequency."

Traditional irrigation practices typically adopt a "fixed frequency, variable duration" strategy. In this scenario, the watering duration is adjusted—often using the "water budget" concept—to align with decisions made by green space teams or based on past or forecast rainfall data.

This traditional method has three major drawbacks:

• Agronomic: It "spoon-feeds" the plant, preventing it from developing a deep root system. This keeps the vegetation in a state of constant dependency.

• Operational: Constantly modifying durations causes schedule overlaps, which can lead to pressure drops and compromise the efficiency of irrigation cycles. While tools exist to manage these overlaps, they are often highly complex.

• Low Impact: Greencityzen has demonstrated that managing irrigation via a connected rain gauge only yields about 10% water savings, whereas irrigation controlled by soil moisture probes consistently exceeds 50%.

By using soil moisture sensors, automated irrigation control eliminates these three drawbacks. Every day, the system decides whether or not to water based on the actual soil moisture level compared to the setpoint defined by the green space manager.

This method is common sense, very simple to implement, and achieves annual water savings of over 50%. Beyond its simplicity, this approach encourages deeper root development, making the vegetation more robust and less susceptible to water stress.