Rain Bird’s ESP-SMT Smart Irrigation Control System has earned the WaterSense label from the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) WaterSense partnership program. The WaterSense label certifies that the ESP-SMT has passed the EPA’s rigorous testing requirements, confirming the controller’s water-efficiency and performance in landscape settings.
“When we designed the ESP-SMT, we took the complicated programming that had been used by golf courses for decades and put it into a user-friendly residential/light commercial controller,” said Jed Price, product manager for Rain Bird controllers. “We wanted to make it possible for contractors to offer their customers a controller that improves irrigation efficiency and reduces water waste. Having the ESP-SMT controller earn the EPA WaterSense label is just another confirmation that we’ve accomplished that goal.”
WaterSense testing. To earn the WaterSense label, weather-based irrigation controllers must demonstrate the ability to adequately meet the watering needs of a landscape without overwatering. To prove this ability, these controllers must first undergo independent testing in accordance with the Irrigation Association’s Smart Water Application Technologies (SWAT) 30-day testing protocol.
Independent test results showed that Rain Bird’s ESP-SMT effectively creates and modifies irrigation schedules based on historical ET rates and on-site weather sensor data. The ESP-SMT also demonstrated an irrigation adequacy of greater than, or equal to, 80%, an irrigation excess of 10% or less in each of six irrigation zones, and an average irrigation excess of 5% or less across all six zones. The ESP-SMT also met or surpassed numerous other testing requirements, including independent zone programming, a water budget feature and the ability to accommodate watering restrictions.
