Irrigation Controller Drought Adjustment Using Evapotranspiration Rates
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Solution Overview
Problem
Increasing water scarcity and drought conditions necessitate improved irrigation controllers that can adjust watering schedules based on drought conditions to conserve water.
Innovation Solution
An irrigation controller that adjusts watering schedules by calculating an adjusted landscape evapotranspiration rate based on drought categories, using processors to determine drought categories and apply drought factors to existing evapotranspiration rates, and incorporating user input and geographic location data to optimize water usage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional irrigation controllers use fixed watering schedules based on standard evapotranspiration rates, then plants receive consistent water supply, but water waste increases during drought conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The irrigation controller dynamically adjusts watering schedules by incorporating real-time drought condition data and calculating modified evapotranspiration rates. The system transitions from static, fixed schedules to dynamic schedules that adapt to changing environmental conditions, specifically drought severity levels, thereby reducing water consumption while maintaining plant health.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the evapotranspiration rate parameter based on drought conditions. By retrieving standard evapotranspiration rates and applying drought-specific adjustment factors, the controller modifies this critical irrigation parameter to reflect reduced water requirements during drought periods, directly addressing the contradiction between consistent plant water supply and water conservation.
2Loss of energy
If irrigation controllers adjust watering schedules frequently to respond to changing drought conditions, then water conservation improves, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses drought condition data and drought factors as intermediaries to simplify the control logic. Rather than directly monitoring multiple environmental parameters and making complex decisions, the controller retrieves pre-established drought factors corresponding to different drought severity levels, which serve as mediators to translate environmental conditions into adjusted evapotranspiration rates and watering schedules.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-establishing drought factors and drought severity categories before actual drought conditions occur. These pre-calculated adjustment factors are stored and readily applied when drought conditions are detected, eliminating the need for complex real-time calculations and simplifying the control system's decision-making process.
3Ease of operation
If irrigation controllers use standardized evapotranspiration rates for all conditions, then system operation is simple, but water efficiency decreases during droughts
Solution Approach 1:
The irrigation controller maintains universality by using a single standardized evapotranspiration rate methodology that serves multiple functions. The same base evapotranspiration calculation is used under all conditions, but with optional drought adjustment factors that can be applied or not applied based on conditions, allowing the system to function simply during normal conditions and efficiently during droughts without requiring entirely different calculation methods.
Data Source
AI summary
Irrigation controllers, methods, and computer readable media for altering a watering schedule for an irrigation controller in accordance with determined drought conditions are disclosed. An adjusted landscape evapotranspiration rate may be calculated based on a determined drought category. The watering schedule for the watering zone may be altered in accordance with the adjusted landscape evapotranspiration rate.