If you love gardening, a good sprinkler system must be among your go to tools. Although they come in many forms, their uses are pretty much the same: to irrigate agricultural plants, lawns, landscape, and golf courses, act as a deterrent against homeless people pitching camp on a lavish green lawn or run off intruders. Sprinklers can generally be classified into two categories.
1. Industrial sprinklers
These are sprinklers that spray in a fixed pattern. Industrial sprinklers are mounted on a gear drive, ball drive or impact mechanism that facilitates rotating movement or can be calibrated to rotate in a full or partial circle.
Similar to impact sprinklers are rain guns whose only difference is that they operate at much higher pressures.
To facilitate optimum operation of most industrial sprinklers they are placed in zones and are powered by electricity or by hydraulic technology. Installation in a zonal formation allows users to collectively turn them on or off by activating a solenoid controlled valve.
2. Residential Sprinklers
These are common in our house lawns and can vary extensively in their sizes, prices and complexity. They include:
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Impact sprinklers
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Drip sprinklers
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Oscillating sprinklers
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Underground sprinkler systems
Although the jargon used in describing sprinklers might sound somewhat daunting, it should not deter you from shopping for your preferred sprinkler system. You will find small sprinklers readily available and fairly prized in your local hardware stores.
Some of these systems might take the form of the kind of sprinklers that are temporarily attached to an outdoor water faucet or they might be the kind that are permanently and professionally installed into the ground and attached permanently to a home's plumbing system.
Tips for Efficient Plant Watering
Opt for a Permanent Fixture
For residential use, permanently installed sprinklers might be more efficient in terms water usage. Most come with timers and other automated processes like retractable heads and they are easier to manage even in your absence. They are also less likely to get damaged by a lawn mower.
Keep it Basic
If you want to keep tabs on the water usage, use the basic, movable ones that attach to an outdoor faucet. They will be ideal provided you don't mind setting them up when you need to water your plants and removing them once done.
Installation of sprinklers for plants can be buried in the ground, with the relevant plumbing being installed above ground.
All sprinklers are really efficient water dispensers for plants. However, you would need to match the water system with your plant needs and energy efficiency to make the most of it. Click here for info on this topic.