Rain Sensors
The Smart Water Applications Technologies Committee, a collaborative initiative between the Irrigation Association and water utilities throughout the country, has developed an independent third-party testing protocol specific to rainfall shutoff devices. The rainfall shutoff devices come in two general categories: 1) immediate response sensors whereby a very small amount of rainfall will suspend or interrupt an irrigation event, and 2) adjustable sensors that allow the irrigation manager to select an amount of rainfall that needs to occur before the irrigation event is interrupted or suspended. Currently, the tests are conducted by the University of Florida in Gainesville, Fla.
The objective of this testing protocol is to evaluate how well current commercial technology can react to rainfall to suspend or interrupt scheduled irrigation events thereby maximizing the benefit of rainfall, conserving water resources and improving irrigation efficiency. Each product is tested for performance and reliability.
List of IA-SWAT Performance Reports for Rainfall Shutoff Devices
Several rainfall shutoff devices have completed IA-SWAT protocol testing and results have been released by the manufacturer. For individual results, please click on the PDFs below.
Performance Summaries
05/09/2012 Hunter Rain-Clik
05/09/2012 Hunter Wireless Rain-Clik