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How Does A Lawn Sprinkler System Work?


The Anatomy/Components of a Sprinkler System

The bones of the sprinkler system are the underground PVC pipes. These pipes are buried 2-6 feet below the ground. Swing joints are plastic joints that connect the sprinklers to the PVC pipes.

Swing joints are adjustable to ensure the sprinkler heads are not above the soil surface, which could cause damage to mowers. Sprinkler heads deliver the water from the PVC to the lawn and come in a variety of shapes and sizes. The lawn can then be divided into zones, which are a collection of sprinklers that cover a specific area of the lawn.

The control box is usually installed in the garage as it needs a power outlet. The outlet needed for your control box is a standard outlet seen throughout your house.

How Do Rotating Sprinklers Work?

Once the in-ground home sprinkler system is activated, water travels through the PVC pipes and is released through the rotating sprinklers. The sprinklers rotate to give an even spread of water over the chosen area.

One of the main benefits of these sprinklers is that they are easily adjustable. This allows the spray of the sprinkler to be adjusted to only water the grassy areas, and the spray can be adjusted to ensure no overwatering occurs. You can adjust the time of day you want the watering to commence and to end, giving your lawn only enough water and not flooding it.

How Do Automatic Sprinklers Work

lawn-sprinkler-control-panel-imageSprinkler systems are programmed to run at a specific time of day, usually early in the morning. The sprinklers do not turn on until they receive an electronic signal from the control box. Once the signal reaches the sprinklers, they run for a designated period of time and turn off automatically. You can interrupt the pre-programmed settings and turn off the sprinklers remotely using a smartphone app or when certain rain is in the forecast.

The settings can be changed for different seasons, as it is important that a lawn is kept watered in the dry seasons. This ensures that your lawn is watered correctly and without the need for you to do anything other than check the irrigation system is working.

The Benefits of Installing an In-Ground Lawn Sprinkler System

Out of all the options available for watering your lawn, an automatic irrigation system is the most efficient. Sprinklers can be precisely adjusted to water only the turfgrass and avoid watering areas like concrete driveways, and also to help prevent overwatering a lawn. A watering schedule can be programmed to the systems and no further action is needed! (Set it and forget it). These schedules can be easily adjusted based on the time of the season, and recent improvements can allow you to adjust your sprinkler system from your smartphone using a Smart Controller. This ability to control your sprinkler remotely makes a great deal of difference for those who lead busy working and family lives.

Another benefit of a sprinkler system is that should you decide to sell the house, an integral lawn sprinkler system will certainly help to increase the home value and add to the overall selling appeal of the home.

Do I Need a Sprinkler System for My Lawn

The first thing to consider in determining what are your expectations of your lawn. Do you want your lawn to be the talk of the neighborhood or just good enough so you don’t get made fun of by your neighbors?

lawn-sprinkler-in-useHigh quality lawns require a consistent amount of irrigation throughout the year, and underground sprinkler systems are one of the best ways to achieve a healthy green lawn. Without the sprinkler in place regular watering with a hose will take up a lot of your time, especially if you have a large lawn.

The second thing you will want to consider is the investment to install an irrigation system on your property. Depending on the situation, installation can cost several hundreds to thousands of dollars and weeks of construction. Keep in mind areas of your lawn will show some signs of wear during and immediately after the irrigation system installation process. After a few months your lawn will recover and look better than ever.

After the initial investment of the in-ground sprinkler system installation, the benefits will continue for the life of the system. If you are wanting a lush green lawn throughout the year, an automatic sprinkler system not only saves you money in the long run, but also frees up your time to enable you to get on with your daily life.

Our Conclusion on Lawn Sprinkler Systems

Lawns need yearly maintenance to keep the grass looking its best. This can take a lot of time and effort in watering and caring for a lawn, especially in areas where there are lengthy dry periods. An underground sprinkler system saves you time and effort as once it is installed, and it can be fully automated.

You can adjust the settings to suit your location and climate and choose the times you want to set the sprinkler to water your lawn for, and again, this can even be done remotely from an app on your smartphone. With just the right amount of watering the lawn will thrive, and your time can be spent elsewhere. Let’s recap some of the benefits of installing an underground lawn sprinkler system.

    • Automatic activation at a set time that is pre-programmed.
    • Automatic shut off when the lawn has had plenty of water and is sufficiently wet.
    • Sprinkler jets can be adjusted for reach so that only the lawn is watered.
    • Multiple sprinklers can be involved in zones so you can have controlled irrigation areas.
    • The controlled areas can be flower beds and other parts of the outdoor space.
    • More efficient than regular watering and less water wasted.
    • Increase the value of the property when you decide to sell.
    • Can be controlled remotely via a smartphone app.
    • Saves time on lawn maintenance.
    • A beautiful healthier lawn throughout the year.

As the above shows there are many benefits when it comes to investing in an underground automatic sprinkler system, and we recommend you check them out further for more information.

Need Help From an Irrigation System Professional?

Request your irrigation estimate or call a RYAN Pro for lawn irrigation service in any one of our locations including Tulsa, Springfield, Wichita, or Kansas City today!

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