WaterSense tags irrigation controllers

Marking the first time an outdoor technology has earned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) WaterSense label, Cyber-Rain, of Encino, Calif., announced that its full line of weather-based controllers has been independently certified to meet the WaterSense specification for weather-based irrigation controllers. 

Homeowners, municipalities, businesses and irrigation professionals can now select WaterSense-labeled controllers that operate like a thermostat for sprinkler systems.

Operating like a thermostat for sprinkler systems, these controllers use local weather data to turn a system on and off depending on when the landscape needs water, reducing water waste and runoff. Across the country, these controllers have the potential to save home and building owners 110 billion gallons of water annually and roughly $410 million per year on utility bills.

Cyber-Rain’s innovative “sprinkler controllers with a brain” use the Internet to check local weather conditions and automatically adjust run times for a property’s irrigation system. According to Cyber-Rain, users can save up to 40% on their water bills, and the system can often pay for itself in one to two years.

WaterSense-labeled irrigation controllers can be standalone controllers, add-on devices and plug-in devices used to control watering in both residential and commercial/institutional applications. With more than 13.5 million landscape irrigation systems currently in use across the United States, upgrading these systems to include properly installed and programmed WaterSense-labeled irrigation controllers can significantly reduce water waste, provide convenience and meet plants’ water needs while promoting healthy landscapes.

WaterSense, a partnership program sponsored by EPA, seeks to protect the future of our nation's water supply by offering people a simple way to use less water with water-efficient products, new homes and services. Since the program's inception in 2006, WaterSense has helped consumers save 125 billion gallons of water and more than $2 billion in water and energy bills.