10 Benefits of an Irrigation System For Your Home & Lawn
A professional irrigation system installation isn’t a luxury you’ll only see near mansions or upscale golf courses. In fact, they’re much more affordable than you’d imagine because they cut down on water waste generated by attempted to hand-water your property. Lawn irrigation systems are a convenient, cost-effective way to keep your St. Louis property healthy and vibrant.
A home irrigation system is an excellent way to save time and money while reducing the amount of water waste. Not to mention, it’s convenient in that it takes care of watering so you don’t have to spend hours each week hand-watering your lawn. No more achy back and sunburn from standing out in the sun during a heatwave, and no more anxiety about whether or not your lawn received the proper amount of water.
Whether your yard is part of a sprawling estate or a small postage-stamp garden, it will reap the benefits of an irrigation system. Your new sprinklers will ensure your lawn, trees, shrubs, flowers, and vegetables are strong and vibrant all year round.
Signs Your Lawn Is Healthy:
Before we jump into the benefits of lawn irrigation systems, it’s valuable to know when your lawn is healthy versus when it’s sickly and in need of more (or less) water. Luckily, your lawn isn’t secretive and has many ways of letting you know that it’s unhealthy.
While there are many causes for an unhealthy lawn, watering-related issues like over-watering and under-watering are both common culprits. After your irrigation system installation, you should notice vast improvements in your lawn’s health, including:
- No large bald patches of dirt or dead grass
- The grass is springy and quickly bounces back after being walked upon
- Thatch at the soil level is even and not overly built-up
- Rich, consistent color of medium green to dark green
- Grass blades have a fairly even thickness and aren’t thin or scraggly
- The grass is not so thin that dirt can easily be seen through it
Why Should You Invest in an Irrigation System?
- It’s environmentally friendly
- It helps you save money by lowering your water bills
- It increases the value of your home
- It keeps your lawn healthy, vibrant, and beautiful
- It prevents uneven watering
- It’s convenient and saves you the time and trouble of watering by hand
- It reduces weeds, fungi, and plant diseases
- It promotes healthy plant growth
- It can be scheduled to water your property at the ideal time of day
- It gives the flexibility to water while you’re out of town
- Environmental Benefits
Since sprinklers spray out water, they may not seem like the most environmentally friendly invention on the planet, but the truth is, adding a modern sprinkler system benefits the environment in several key ways. Sprinkler systems rely on cutting-edge technology like timers, water gauges, and moisture sensors to carefully regulate the amount of water they use. The goal? Not to waste water by overwatering your lawn.
Now, compare this to traditional hand-watering where you basically have to guess when you’ve watered enough, and the advantages of the modern sprinkler system become clear.
Beyond saving water, the lawn irrigation systems that Hydro Dynamics in St. Louis install also have other environmental benefits that are less apparent but equally beneficial to the health of your yard and your family. Take a look at these additional benefits:
- Healthy turf absorbs atmospheric pollutants like carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, ozone, and other greenhouse gases. Plus, it releases healthy, pure oxygen back into the air.
- A strong, healthy lawn will generate deep root systems to prevent erosion and runoff.
- Lawns produce a cooling effect to help keep your home cool during sunny months. This helps off-set how hard your air conditioner needs to run to keep your home comfortable and cuts down on your energy bills.
- Financial Benefits
Not only is a well-cared-for lawn beautiful to look at, but it also benefits your wallet. Sprinkler systems are calibrated to use the right amount of water while cutting out wastefulness. That means your monthly water bill will be much lower compared to manual watering. You can finally have that lush, green lawn you’ve always dreamed of without having to sink a small fortune into watering it, especially during the dry summer months in St. Louis.
You can even adjust your sprinkler system’s watering schedule based on the season and time of year. For example, you can set the system to water daily during the hot St. Louis summer months and reduce watering to once per week during the cooler, damper fall weather. This helps you save money by avoiding over-watering during the fall or spring.
Aside from your water bill, irrigation system installation can raise your home’s property value. This is beneficial if you’re looking to add some extra curb appeal to your home before putting it on the market!
- Home Value
The financial benefits of irrigation system installation extend beyond simply reducing your monthly water bill. A beautiful, vibrant law adds curb appeal to your home and is a major selling point to potential buyers. Plus, there are additional indirect benefits to a sprinkler system. That extra money you save on your bills can be invested in other home remodeling projects to further boost your home’s value!
- Aesthetic Benefits
Unhealthy lawns are blighted with dead grass, dirt, and bald spots. Plus, gaps in your turf open up space for weeds, which only adds to the lawn’s sickly, unhappy look. On the other hand, well-cared-for lawns are beautiful and pleasing to look at. An irrigation system provides consistent, regularly scheduled water to your lawn. This is especially important during the summer months when the sun’s intensity can dry out the soil and damage your turf. You won’t need to worry about that anymore with a professional irrigation system installation!
In addition to creating a consistent watering schedule, lawn irrigation systems also ensure that no part of your lawn is skipped or overwatered. Our technicians map your lawn and take your climate into consideration as they put together their sprinkler plan. Only once the plan is in place will we break ground. Your new irrigation system will keep your turf’s color and consistency even throughout your yard.
When it comes to appearance, some St. Louis homeowners are concerned that a sprinkler system will have a negative impact on their yard’s look. While the sprinkler systems of the past were large, bulky, and obvious, contemporary lawn irrigation systems are much subtler. Most of the system is contained below ground and the sprinkler heads will only rise when they’re in use. Plus, the system can be scheduled to run during the evening or early morning when you and your family are asleep. You won’t even realize the system is there!
- Prevents uneven watering
Before we perform the irrigation system installation, the installation team plans the placement of the underground pipes and above-ground sprinklers for the best possible coverage. Each nozzle is precisely placed so the radius distributes water evenly across your lawn. We take into account everything from the size of your yard, the local climate, and the physical geography of your property. If your yard contains slopes or hills, we’ll factor that in since it can cause water to flow down and saturate certain areas while other areas don’t get a chance to properly absorb the water.
While it may technically be possible to achieve the same results by hand-watering, it’s not easy to do. When using a hose to water your property, the most you can do is make educated guesses about how much water your yard needs. Take the guesswork out of watering by installing a programmable irrigation system!
Did you know that modern lawn irrigation systems use cutting-edge technology to converse water and save money? Many of these systems are built with high-tech features like rain sensors and soil sensors. Rain sensors will turn the system off during rain showers and reactivate them after the storm. Soil sensors are used to detect moisture levels in soil and can add additional moisture if needed.
- Convenience
The advantages of an irrigation system are not just aesthetic, financial, and environmental. Lawn sprinklers also take care of the exhausting task of having to hand-water your entire lawn and garden. This is a huge benefit for people who have very large yards, elderly homeowners, and those who are simply too busy to devote hours each week to watering.
Programmable sprinklers can be set to water on a weekly or daily basis. This conveniently allows you to adjust the schedule depending on the season and the amount of precipitation your yard receives naturally. In other words, you can set your sprinkler system to water daily during the arid summer months and taper off to weekly watering during damper seasons like spring and fall.
Knowing how much to water can be tough – not to mention stressful – if you’re watering by hand and relying on your best judgment. Automatic lawn irrigation systems take the guesswork out of watering with reliable timers and sensor systems. These high-tech sensors will ensure your property is receiving the proper amount of water.
- Reduce Weeds, Fungi, and Plant Diseases
Irrigation systems allow you to specifically target areas of your landscape to receive water. Certain lawn irrigation systems like drip systems are extremely efficient at this and can direct water into the root systems of certain plants. This reduces the number of weeds in your yard since it will deprive them of water and instead direct that water towards desirable plants, trees, and shrubs.
A sprinkler system can also reduce the occurrence of fungi and plant disease on your property. When you water by hand, it often results in standing droplets of water collecting on the leaves. This is the perfect environment for plant fungi to flourish. On the other hand, lawn irrigation systems deliver water efficiently to plants so you don’t need to worry about the hazards of excess standing water. Drip irrigation systems that feed water directly into a plant’s root ball bypass above-ground watering entirely.
- Preserve Valuable Soil Nutrients
Watering by hand can damage the soil’s nutritional value in a couple of ways. If you over-water your turf, excess water in the soil will result in water runoff. This is when water floods through the soil and carries away valuable nutrients. Fewer nutrients in the soil mean less for your plants. Plus, soil that’s been oversaturated with water can compact the soil around the plant roots. This can suffocate or crush the plant roots and lead to root disease. Lawn irrigation systems, on the other hand, are calibrated to use the precise amount of water so it doesn’t damage your yard’s delicate soil ecosystem.
On the other end of the watering spectrum, underwatering your lawn can also damage the soil. Dry soil is more prone to erosion. If dry enough, the uppermost layer of topsoil can turn to a dusty consistency and blow away, carrying valuable nutrients away with it. Maintaining a proper level of moisture in the soil is key to keeping it from drying out and eroding away.
- Optimize Your Watering Schedule
The best time to water your lawn is early in the morning. When the sun is down, water doesn’t evaporate as quickly, meaning your grass and foliage will have the maximum amount of time to absorb the water. This also means you’ll ultimately be able to use less water than if you water during the day because your sprinkler system won’t be competing against the evaporating power of the sun. This translates into reduced water waste and lower water bills!
Watering in the evening can also be problematic. During the scorching St. Louis summer months, some homeowners may be tempted to water just before sundown to avoid standing out in the sun. However, this can have a negative effect on your lawn. When water sits on your plants all night along, it encourages the growth of fungi and rot. To keep your property as healthy as possible, set your programmable sprinklers to go off just before dawn and relax in bed while they do the heavy lifting.
- Benefits for Frequent Travelers
Just like a programmable thermostat, sprinkler systems allow you to customize your home’s watering schedule. Once programmed, the system will turn on and turn off automatically, so you don’t need to be present when your yard is watered. For that reason, programmable irrigation systems are popular among frequent travelers. If you go on frequent business trips or are simply planning an upcoming vacation, you can travel without worrying about whether or not you’ll come home to a dead lawn or garden.
Enjoy the Benefits of an Irrigation System
An in-ground irrigation system for your home offers many benefits ranging from financial to aesthetic and convenience. A programmable sprinkler system avoids issues of over-watering or under-watering which is common when you attempt to hand-water your lawn with a hose. Not only does this lead to a healthier, greener lawn, but you will also save money on your monthly water bills.
When it comes to finding the perfect balance of water and nutrients for your lawn, let the St. Louis irrigation professionals at Hydro Dynamics help. The pros will evaluate your property and take into consideration important factors like climate, slopes, and sun exposure. Once they’ve put together a plan to optimize the amount of water your grass needs, they’ll install the system with precision and attention to detail. Your new system will be tailored to your specific needs and keep your St. Louis yard healthier and brighter than a garden hose ever could!
