Student Team Members:
Wesley Page, Raymond Kozikowski
Report: [download] pdf 37kb
Landscape Irrigation
The goal of this project was to reduce potable water consumption in the home due to lawn irrigation. In homes that have moderate to exhibition quality lawns, irrigation above what nature provides is necessary. Due to the size of the average lawn (less than 2500 sq. ft.), these systems consume a great deal of water, and are in fact the single greatest waste of water in the home. In an age where are scarce, conservation should be priority number one. Thus we propose a two-pronged attack on this problem. First, it is necessary to reduce water consumed by the lawn. By using water-conserving plants native to the region, we significantly decrease water use in a natural and safe way. Secondly, we want to use rain to its full potential as an agent for watering the lawn. This is achieved by using weather and sensor data to accurately monitor the level of moisture in the soil. These ideas can be implemented cheaply in any home concerned with saving water and may some day serve as a cheap alternative for golf course turf management.
