User:Lmzl.14/Smart Watering

Smart Watering is the declension of smart systems and cybernetic theory to the green spaces watering.

It aims to save water, by conditioning the watering (the action) from the soil moisture (the measurement) and weather data. This approach is similar to that of the thermostat, the power steering or the cruise control. In each of these applications, a feedback loop is used to maintain an equilibrium point and to resist disorder. In this vision, an intelligent solution is a system that collects [CAPTER] information from sensors in order to build a picture of the real world (in our case the water needs of plants). This information is then processed and analyzed [PROCESS] in order to act with an "intelligent" action [ACT] that can eventually modify the real world. Intelligent watering is the variation of the [CAPTER], [PROCESS], [ACT] loop in the field of watering.

Smart watering devices combine centralized watering technologies and soil moisture sensors with the goals of significantly reducing water consumption and preserving the appearance of green spaces compared to an expected.

The performance of a smart irrigation system is based on its ability to adjust the amount of water applied as accurately as possible. This requires connected humidity sensors, but also remote-controlled solenoid valves.

The addition of connected water meters allows to maximize water savings by detecting hidden leaks and to have a more accurate management by the instantaneous or regular control of flows. A complementary weather station, local or remote, allows for an agronomic understanding of the quantities of water applied.

Fields of application
Smart watering can be used in the green spaces of communities by the green spaces and gardens departments or by subcontractors (landscapers, maintenance companies).

Farmers, for the irrigation of their crops, use these devices to reduce their water consumption and ensure that they irrigate their plots accurately and avoid over-irrigation or water stress that would lower the yield of their production.

Like farmers, horticulturists use precision irrigation for their outdoor plantings or above ground crops in greenhouses. .

Smart watering is not necessarily intended for private individuals, although the market is also developing in this direction, as it is recommended for large areas and for professionals looking for precision in irrigation.

Automation
Smart watering is emerging with the appearance of connected environmental sensors (IOT - Internet of Things). The dematerialization of programmers and the remote control of irrigation through LPWAN networks such as Sigfox and LoRaWAN, allow actions such as the programming and reprogramming of watering regardless of the location of the operator, and this from a smartphone or a computer.

With IOT and data recovery, models are created to exploit this data for environmental purposes such as optimizing water consumption or reducing team travel. Algorithms developed for smart watering devices allow to calculate the right amount of irrigation water needed by plants or crops every day. In addition to saving water, smart watering avoids soil leaching to maintain soil fertility.

Current context
In France, green spaces represent 55,000 hectares of gardens, parks and traffic circles that must be irrigated every day. In today's society, local authorities tend to save water in order to preserve a resource that is becoming increasingly scarce. However, 91% of municipalities water with drinking water and this represents 65% of the volume of water consumed.

Water consumption for watering green spaces represents 11% of the department's total budget.

Faced with this, devices have begun to emerge and be installed in cities, automatic watering, centralized watering, differentiated management or sustainable management and Smart watering.

Components of a Smart watering system
A smart watering device can be composed of:


 * Connected instrumentation: sensors (soil moisture, water meters, etc.) or actuators (solenoid valve control).
 * Centralized watering to execute watering instructions.
 * A platform that allows to control the changes of watering instructions.
 * An application to manage and supervise the system.

'''Wireless devices have the advantage of being, in some cases, easy to install on existing green spaces, provided they are compatible with existing solenoid valves or water meters. The compatibility of the device with the solenoid valves on the market, if established, can sometimes avoid the cost of replacing these solenoid valves during installation.'''

Advantages of Smart watering compared to stand-alone programmers

 * Water savings, depending on the type of programming. In most cases, the programming is seasonal, daily adjustment can represent more than 40% of water savings.
 * Reduced soil leaching and improved fertility
 * The advantages of centralized watering: no need for on-site interventions.
 * Supervision capabilities via cell phone, or desktop computer in the case of centralized management.

Advantages of Smart watering compared to centralized watering

 * Daily adjustment of the water supply at the top, based on the moisture theoretically present in the soil. Water savings can be significant in the event of climatic hazards
 * The cost of autonomous devices can, in some cases, be advantageous compared to wired installations that can also be subject to vandalism.
 * Compatibility with the solenoid valves on the market allows the devices to be deployed if the park is heterogeneous.
 * Supervision capabilities via cell phone.