At its Unity event on March 3 in Novato, Calif., Jain Irrigation launched its newest product, Jain Unity, an automatic irrigation control system and environmental data services platform.
Powered by artificial intelligence (AI) and predictive analytics and building on ETWater technolgoy, Unity decides when and how much an irrigation system needs to operate, allowing for as much available rainfall or precipitation as possible before initiating a watering schedule. It gives users direct access to view how much water the plants in their landscape require, along with real-time visibility to the efficiency of their irrigation system for eliminating water waste.
So, in addition to looking backward at past trends and evapotranspiration rates, the system also looks forward, pulling predictive forecasts from three different weather stations, according to Aric Olson, president of Jain Irrigation.
“I want to thank the employees of ETWater who have worked hard preparing for this day,” Olson said. “We have a small but dedicated staff who are committed to water management.”
Olson added that since he’s had Jain Unity installed at his personal residence over the past year and a half, he’s managed to save enough gallons of water to fill half a swimming pool.
Richard Restuccia, vice president of water management solutions at Jain Irrigation, said the need for smart irrigation powered by AI is important as “the new norm is that we’re going into a drought or coming out of a drought,” particularly in western regions of the country such as California.
When it comes to overwatering, he added, “Some contractors are erring on the side of irrigating too much, because if they err on the low side, they’re going to kill the plant material. It’s complicated to get that tech control right, so the good news is with Jain Unity, all those calculations (to determine how much water a given plant material needs) can be done for you with software.”
Attendees of the event also had the chance to tour Rossmoor, a homeowners’ association in Walnut Creek, Calif. Irrigation on the 1,800-acre site is currently managed by 402 ETWater controllers.
The controllers allow the team at Rossmoor to keep an eye out for breaks and adjust watering schedules to the microclimates situated within the community, if necessary, according to Rebecca Pollen, landscape manager at Rossmoor.
