Hello everyone,
Due to bad weather, we didn’t make as much progress on the landscaping as planned, but now we are moving forward and are currently planning the automatic irrigation system.
We have tried several planners for this, and the one from DVS worked best for us. However, some aspects are still unclear, so I hope to get some feedback on our plan and clarify a few open questions.
Here is our current plan:
Legend:
Orange: house, terrace at the house, paved areas in front of the house
Green: lawn
White areas: paths/stairs/terrace
1: raised garden beds
2: hedges
3: trampoline (in-ground)
4: terrace
5a-c: potential water faucets (a: outside, b: roof terrace on garage, c: inside the garage)
General information:
Currently, we have planned the entire supply through faucet 5a. More on this below in the questions.
The plot slopes about 7m (23 ft) from top to bottom towards the street.
Especially in the upper bottom left area, there are zones with less-than-optimal irrigation. This area is not used much, and perfect irrigation would be too expensive due to the many angles and "obstacles" (trampoline, terrace).
The following questions came up during the planning:
1. Multiple water sources: I assume that if I want to use multiple water sources, I will need to purchase as many irrigation controllers, valve manifolds, etc., as there are sources, correct?
2. Considering the slope: Do I need to take the slope into account during the planning? I couldn’t enter this in the planner. I imagine it might affect the pressure, so irrigation zones going uphill should have fewer sprinklers planned accordingly.
3. Quality levels of components: For many parts, you can choose between Eco, Expert, and Premium. These usually have a significant impact on price, but I don’t see a clear benefit from the descriptions.
Currently, we plan to use Expert quality for the irrigation controller and valve manifold, and Eco for the rest.
Is the upgrade to better materials worth the extra cost (for example, the installation unit for Hunter MP Rotators is about €12 (about $13); with 21 rotators that’s roughly €250 (about $275))?
4. Drip irrigation: Neither the manual nor the planner showed how much water demand to calculate per square meter, so I’m unsure if one connection is enough for a raised bed or hedge, or if several should be planned.
Related to this: Does each raised bed need a separate irrigation line, or can one line branch off to supply several raised beds?
Thanks in advance for all your answers 🙂
Due to bad weather, we didn’t make as much progress on the landscaping as planned, but now we are moving forward and are currently planning the automatic irrigation system.
We have tried several planners for this, and the one from DVS worked best for us. However, some aspects are still unclear, so I hope to get some feedback on our plan and clarify a few open questions.
Here is our current plan:
Legend:
Orange: house, terrace at the house, paved areas in front of the house
Green: lawn
White areas: paths/stairs/terrace
1: raised garden beds
2: hedges
3: trampoline (in-ground)
4: terrace
5a-c: potential water faucets (a: outside, b: roof terrace on garage, c: inside the garage)
General information:
Currently, we have planned the entire supply through faucet 5a. More on this below in the questions.
The plot slopes about 7m (23 ft) from top to bottom towards the street.
Especially in the upper bottom left area, there are zones with less-than-optimal irrigation. This area is not used much, and perfect irrigation would be too expensive due to the many angles and "obstacles" (trampoline, terrace).
The following questions came up during the planning:
1. Multiple water sources: I assume that if I want to use multiple water sources, I will need to purchase as many irrigation controllers, valve manifolds, etc., as there are sources, correct?
2. Considering the slope: Do I need to take the slope into account during the planning? I couldn’t enter this in the planner. I imagine it might affect the pressure, so irrigation zones going uphill should have fewer sprinklers planned accordingly.
3. Quality levels of components: For many parts, you can choose between Eco, Expert, and Premium. These usually have a significant impact on price, but I don’t see a clear benefit from the descriptions.
Currently, we plan to use Expert quality for the irrigation controller and valve manifold, and Eco for the rest.
Is the upgrade to better materials worth the extra cost (for example, the installation unit for Hunter MP Rotators is about €12 (about $13); with 21 rotators that’s roughly €250 (about $275))?
4. Drip irrigation: Neither the manual nor the planner showed how much water demand to calculate per square meter, so I’m unsure if one connection is enough for a raised bed or hedge, or if several should be planned.
Related to this: Does each raised bed need a separate irrigation line, or can one line branch off to supply several raised beds?
Thanks in advance for all your answers 🙂
Schimi179110 Aug 2021 20:49rick2018 schrieb:
Usually not cost-effective. Nowadays, there are often strict requirements for garden water meters. Requirements in what form?
… … … … …
rick2018 schrieb:
DVS is by no means the cheapest everywhere. HDPE pipes, connectors, and so on can be found more cheaply in other stores. Valve boxes for self-assembly are also less expensive. The Hydrawise controller is available in many places as well... I recently placed a larger order there; the prefabricated parts are also great on the other hand. When I calculate the time saved by not having to assemble the parts myself, the price becomes quite reasonable quickly.
For the rest, I completely agree with you—you can definitely get those items much cheaper elsewhere.
Whether a rainwater cistern is worthwhile also depends on the roof area. We are building a bungalow, where the roof area and the amount of rainwater collected are significantly larger than, for example, with a city villa.
Nevertheless, I find the statement "water is cheap here" somewhat out of touch nowadays. You should definitely be careful not to waste too much water on your garden. Over time—this will certainly be the case here—watering with drinking water will surely be prohibited.
Nevertheless, I find the statement "water is cheap here" somewhat out of touch nowadays. You should definitely be careful not to waste too much water on your garden. Over time—this will certainly be the case here—watering with drinking water will surely be prohibited.