I live in Australia, so the board took a little over 2 weeks to arrive after order – quite good I thought, but I was expecting it to take a little longer and it clashed with a few other ‘life’ projects and my new supply of MicroSD cards hadn’t arrived yet!Īssembly took 5 minutes – as you can see from the below photo, I used an old Pi v2B board (that was originally used as media centre at my work house and has had a few other ‘tasks’ since!). The only decision I had left was stay with my Pi thoughts or go for the Arduino version – since I couldn’t find specific details on the Arduino chip being used and hence its memory capacity, etc, I decided on the Pi version as I also had an idea what I wanted to ‘play’ with for functionality but hadn’t defined it too well either yet! I had 16 zones that are controlled by the Pi GPIO so I have control over each zone easily as well as a rain sensor (digital) input – so it met my immediate requirements. Wandering around the world wide wonder one night I came across the “ TIAO Smart Sprinkler Pi V2” board that took my fancy. My current system is ‘ok’ but I need to get rid of original 8 zone restriction and look at some advanced control … I could have expanded my CBUS system, but it meant buying another low voltage relay controller for around AUD400 and then analogue input devices – this adds up real fast and would still take a lot of coding to get it to do what I want! While this would have been fun a few years back, I would rather play with a Pi (or 4!) and then interface them back into CBUS system. My initial controller was one I brought from the previous place to ‘get things going’ that was quickly ‘upgraded’ to run from my initial CBUS black and white screen, then to my CBUS colour screen and now that my needs are getting more complex I am moving to a Pi! I started this process in the same manner – making sure all the infrastructure was in place at build time and thus allowing the control system and various other parts to be ‘upgraded’ as I go along.
You can also configure your home network to allow access externally from anywhere (depending on your comfort level for setting this up and exposing to the internet in general).When I built my place a ‘few’ years back, I had plans of making my garden as smart as the rest of the rest of the place. With all of the above you’ll have mobile access, but only on your home wireless network. (I know, the exciting life of a homeowner!) For me this was one of the best use cases: while I’m out adjusting sprinklers I can remotely turn each zone on or off.
Opensprinkler irrigation system software#
Once you have the software configured, I recommend downloading one of the OpenSprinkler mobile apps so you can control everything from around the house (via Wi-Fi). If you attach a rain sensor, the OpenSprinkler can also operate in a smart weather mode where it decreases the amount of watering based on local rain or weather forecasts from Weather Underground. Programming the schedule is pretty straightforward as well. You can give your zones nice names like “front lawn” or “back roses” so you don’t have to remember zone numbers. The more interesting part is the software which is easy to set up from a web browser. My original 20+ year old Lawn Genie controller My new OpenSprinkler installed Software Here’s a comparison of the old Lawn Genie and the new OpenSprinkler: (The OpenSprinkler itself does not have Wi-Fi.) You’ll also need to connect to your home network with an Ethernet cable. All the cabling is compatible (assuming you have the standard 24 VAC controllers), so it’s just a matter of reconnecting everything to the OpenSprinkler. Replacing my old Lawn Genie controller with the OpenSprinkler controller was really simple.
Opensprinkler irrigation system update#
Getting certified is still on the to-do list according to this OpenSprinkler update from Feb 2015. There is also the possibility that if OpenSprinkler can get certified by the EPA WaterSense program, that rebates from water agencies could be possible (similar to low-flow toilets, energy-saving water heaters, etc.). OpenSprinkler started out as a hobby kit for makers and they still sell it a variety of ways, from kits to completed units. Rather than waiting around for Nest, I just bought and installed an OpenSprinkler. Especially here in California (where we are in a pretty serious drought), having better control over irrigation (not to mention the remote access) seems like the logical next step. At the time we talked a lot about the obvious next step of supporting home sprinkler/irrigation controls. My friend Jeff Cable was one of the early adopters of the Nest thermostat.
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