If you’re using potable water for your irrigation, a smart controller will pay for itself in one to three months. And replacing your current irrigation controller with a new one is usually pretty easy.
In this post we’ll cover the primary installation processes, however, we can’t cover everything for every manufacturer or model. The good news is that there are a lot of commonalities between the products and generally, if your old controller isn’t really ancient, it should be nearly a direct replacement. We’ll provide you with a list of manufacturer resources in the next page. Their support team should be able to answer any questions that you have. Lastly, you can always enlist the help of a irrigation or landscape professional if the process doesn’t make sense or is too taxing.
The first and perhaps most important step is to make sure that you have a good Wi-Fi signal directly at your controller. Without a good signal you won’t be able to install the controller nor receive the weather data that is required. Probably the easiest way is to stand next to your current controller and observe the Wi-Fi signal strength icon on your cell phone as shown below (not the cell signal icon).
If you don’t have a good signal, since the controller could be in the garage or outside, you’ll need a Wi-Fi Extender (typically $35-$50) or upgrade your Wi-Fi system to a “Mesh” type system. Next, you’ll need to unplug the old controller from the wall and open the panel. You should see a wiring terminal similar to the picture below. At this point the best thing to do is to take a picture of the wiring to identify which wire goes to which terminal / zone. The wire from terminal 1 of the old controller goes to terminal 1 of the new controller, and so on. If the wires are all the same color, you will need to label them with tape.
“C” is the common terminal on both controllers. If you don’t have a well pump or a separate rain sensor, you can ignore these connections.
Next remove the old controller from the wall & mount the new one. Follow the manufacturer’s directions for installation and connecting the new controller. See the Resources page for YouTube Videos and manufacturers contact information.
Once mounted and powered up, most manufacturers will have you download their app on your smart phone. The app will provide you with step-by-step instructions for establishing an account login, connection to your Wi-Fi and initial setup of the new controller. And of course, one of the important steps is to connect your new controller to your neighborhood hyper local weather station.
A map and list of these stations can be found under “Wx Stations” on the main menu at the top of the home page.
That’s pretty much it! Using the app you will be able to set up the controller to water on the days that you wish and designate the plant and soil type as well as other parameters. You don’t have to do all of this at once, since you can always open the app and change and update everything. Explore.
Another feature is that you can share or delegate the viewing or complete control of your system to another person or company. This is a plus if you don’t want to get into the details of irrigation or if you are away for extended periods of time.
