Best Smart Sprinklers in the UK

If you are an owner of a gorgeous garden with trees and bushes, green hedges and colourful flower beds, and, of course, a lush lawn, a sophisticated irrigation system to maintain all that beauty is a must as well as a smart controller to automate your garden watering for your best comfort. And the Gardena 19032-20 is an optimal choice to level up your irrigation water control.

Created and engineered in Germany, the model stands out for the ultimate quality straight away. With the IP X4 protection class, the unit has a splash-proof body, which means you can safely use it both indoors and outdoors. To install the controller, you won’t need to invite a professional and will be able to cope with it by yourself. In fact, you just need to screw it to the wall, connect the valve wires, and plug the unit in. The green power light on the unit body will let you know that it’s on and running.

Speaking of the valves, this Gardena controller is good for clipping on six electric valves to precisely control the water supply to six different zones. So, you can either create a new irrigation system around this controller or easily build it into the existing one. More than that, those zone controls are flexible and allow for individual watering settings for each area. It means you can adjust individual irrigation cycles, watering times and duration for the lawn and planted areas, which normally have varying water needs. This way, you’ll ensure maximum customised and individualised care for each and every area in your garden making sure your plants will thrive, flowers will blossom, and the lawn will look lush and healthy.

The best thing is that you can make all the settings and adjustments remotely, via the app on your smartphone or tablet. You just need to work out the programmes and let the Garden smart sprinkler control it for you by setting it up to send you messages in case something is wrong and consistently keep you aware of the irrigation progress and plans.

A healthy and nice-looking lawn largely depends on a consistent and sufficient soil moisture level. So, regular watering is a must, whatever the climate you live in. Smart sprinklers are designed to take every strain off out of the lawn irrigation process and the Orbit B-Hyve is one of the best models to go for if you seek to maintain lawn health without much effort.

First and foremost, Orbit is a reliable and reputed brand in the industry. In the company, they know everything about sprinkle systems. And though they make their first steps in smart sprinkle controllers with the B-Hyve, the unit is a real success. The expertise behind the brand teamed with smart technology has translated into a timer unit that will stand on the guard of your lawn health. Packed into a solid and durable casing, the model can easily withstand harsh weather conditions and is suitable both for indoor and for outdoor use. A swing panel will reveal a wiring terminal with connectors for 6 zones and all connecting hardware is included to let you set it up and running in a few minutes.

In contrast to other high-end models mostly providing for only remote control via the smart gadget, the Orbit B-Hyve offers both manual and remote control options. Thus, it has an onboard control panel with an LCD screen and buttons to program the unit manually or you can do it via a free downloadable app that pairs with the controller unit like a charm.

The only gripe you might have about this smart sprinkler controller is the lack of IFTTT technology, which means it cannot be integrated into a single system with your other smart home devices. However, if you have Amazon Echo, Dot, or Tap, you can make full use of Alexa voice commands to operate the irrigation controller in a hands-free manner.

When it comes to smart sprinklers, all advanced models struggle to provide the best automated irrigation technology. And the Netro Sprite-12 smart sprinkler system really succeeds in this concern. What you’ll get is a comprehensive remote controller for the lawn irrigation system that will do all the job for you and let you keep your hands off the lawn watering chores.

As with many other systems of this type, the Netro Sprite-12 is operated via a mobile app you can download for free for your Android or iOS device. So, the sprinkler controller is a neat unit with no buttons or knobs on it and your mobile gadget will function as a control panel to make all the setting adjustment, create watering schedules and plans, and monitor irrigation sessions. The controller allows for connecting 12 sprinklers or watering stations to control many different zones in your yard and easily integrate into your existing irrigation system.

Yet, the best part about this sprinkle controller is that it is smarter than you think. In fact, there is no need for you to programme the whole system too often. The controller unit is adaptive and self-learning. Continuously checking weather forecasts and monitoring ambient conditions, it will automatically adjust the watering scheme to seasonal and weather changes. Besides, it will constantly track your app settings to create personalised watering schedules. Relying on an extensive plant and soil database, the system will accurately customise the irrigation algorithm to precisely deliver to the needs of your garden plants and lawn. This way, the sprinkler controller will prevent the lawn watering under improper environmental conditions to promote perfect lawn health. It means your lawn will look and “feel” good without your putting much effort into it.

Most of the smart sprinkler systems are the wired electronic units that need to be connected to the mains, which means their mounting options are bound by electricity access. The LinkTap irrigation system controller is completely different in this concern. The model is a fully wireless battery-powered device you snap directly onto an irrigation pipe. Mains-free operation saves you the trouble and fuss of drawing additional cables and wires and insulating them for weather resistance. Thanks to a low-power design, 4 AA batteries will keep the unit running for about 2 years and a water-proof case will securely protect it from environmental impact.

Once mounted on the pipe, the controller unit syncs like a charm with a gateway block also included in the set. Serving as a sort of transmitter, the gateway enhances Wi-Fi signal ensuring the coverage of up to 200 m, so you can rest assured that even the distant corners of your bigger lawn will be properly irrigated. It allows for linking up to 15 wireless water timers to it. Meanwhile, in your LinkTap account, you can connect 3 gateways, which is a good option for landscape professionals who can easily manage their customer irrigation systems remotely.

To get full remote control over the smart sprinkler set, you need to download the LinkTap app for your Android or iOS gadget and register the gateway hardware in it by means of a QR code, which will take you mere minutes all in all. Along with a whole range of functions that we’ll look at in more detail below, the controller will constantly monitor the flow rate and water usage as well as perform real-time fault detection. More than that, it will send push notifications to your phone and copy the message to one or two email addresses of your choice in case any problem occurs such as pipe clogs, water flow rate drops, water cut-offs, etc. And the best thing is that in case of a power outage during watering, the irrigation will be finished in a safe manner and Internet lags won’t affect the watering schedule.

Surely enough, smart devices make our life much easier, which is so true for smart sprinklers that save you the need to drag the garden hose around every now and then and constantly keep an eye on lawn watering. However, those smart things often appear quite expensive and you might find yourself not ready to invest in a costly high-end system yet. This is where an irrigation controller from KKmoon will come into play.

The first thing you’ll immediately like about this model is the price that hits the ground at far below 50 pounds while most other options hover around 120 pounds and more. For the price, you’ll get a fairly simple device that is quick to install and a breeze to use. The set is a combo of an electronic valve you’ll need to hook onto the water hose and a WiFi controller to plug the valve in. It will hardly take more than a few minutes to put this plug and play system to work since the valve easily screws onto a common garden hose and the controller is a breeze to mount to any wall with all the necessary hardware already included. As such, the sprinkle controller will perfectly fit simple domestic irrigation systems and more sophisticated automated ones with in-ground lawn sprinklers as well as complex agricultural systems, greenhouses, and stock farms.

Though a model is a no-frills unit and you can’t expect advanced functionality for the price you pay, it still has just enough intelligence and smart options to bring your lawn irrigation to yet another level. Thus, you’ll still be able to schedule your irrigation sessions by date and set the time when watering starts. You can also set the system to activate depending on the soil condition when the moisture level drops to a critical point and the controller will skip the watering in case of rain or other weather conditions impacting the soil moisture level.