Water Triggers Setup

Water Triggers Overview

Hydrawise uses local, real-time weather forecasting and the most accurate weather stations
available to fine-tune your irrigation system to current conditions.  Water triggers are the settings in your Hydrawise software that can be adjusted based on your watering requirements.  When a trigger met the adjusted threshold, it will make the change in the software to either adjust watering schedule or cancel watering.

Watering Adjustment Chart

Triggers that Cancel Irrigation

• Aborted Due to High Probability of Rain
• Forecast chance of rain is higher than trigger, schedule will reset/check again the following day
• Aborted Due to High Forecast of Wind Speed
• Local wind speed is higher than mph set in trigger, schedule will reset/check again the following day
• Not Watering Due to Low Temperature
• Forecast High Temperature is lower than temperature set in trigger, schedule will reset/check again the following day
• Aborted Due to High Weekly Rainfall
• Total amount of rain for the last 7 days is higher than trigger, schedule will reset after the last 7 days is less than trigger
• Aborted Due to Rainfall Higher last 24 hr
• Previous day’s rainfall is higher than set in trigger, schedule will reset/check again the following day

Triggers that Adjust Schedule

• Water 30% (Edit) less when today's forecast temperature is less than (X)
• Water 100% (Edit) more when today's forecast temperature is above and humidity is below 100%

You can configure watering triggers for either Time Based watering, Smart (ET) watering or Virtual Solar Sync.  

Time-Based Predictive Watering™ 

When using the time based watering type, you will have the following options listed below when setting up your zone: 

The timed based triggers can be accessed from the Water Trigger section on the dashboard.  To configure your Predictive Watering™ triggers click on Watering Triggers.  You will see the options listed below:

For more information on the following triggers below for Time Based Watering, click on the links:

Water more often when hot

Water longer when hot 

Smart (ET) Watering 

Using forecast evapotranspiration helps to predict the right watering schedule for your zones, giving you a more accurate picture of when the zones will next run.

 You can choose whether to use the forecast temperature to predict smart (ET) watering, and whether to use forecast rainfall to delay smart (ET) watering. Watering Schedules will be estimated up to 30 days from today based on forecast and historical temperatures and rainfall. The predicted schedules will be progressively updated each day based on actual weather conditions and new forecasts.

Your watering schedule is updated based on actual weather conditions shortly before your first Program Start Time each day.

You can view the watering adjustments for Smart Watering by clicking here.

For more information on how Time Based Watering works compared to Smart Watering please check out our video guide here.

The Smart (ET) Watering triggers can be accessed from the Water Trigger section on the dashboard.  To configure your Predictive Watering™ triggers click on Watering Triggers.  You will see the options listed below:

Virtual Solar Sync™ 

When using the Virtual Solar Sync type, you will have the following options listed below when setting up your zone: 

The VSS triggers can be accessed from the Water Trigger section on the dashboard.  To configure your Predictive Watering™ triggers, click on Watering Triggers.  You will see the options listed below: 

Weather Station Adjustments

The Weather Station Adjustment triggers below only apply to the watering types Time Based and Virtual Solar Sync.

Actual Rainfall 24 hr- Choose to suspend watering when the rainfall over the past 24 hours is higher
than the specified amount.
Actual Rainfall 7 days- Choose to suspend watering when the rainfall over the past 7 days is higher
than the specified amount. The threshold of 7 days can be changed to between 1 and 30 days by
clicking on the number.

When setting each zone up in "Zones and Schedules," be sure to check the following boxes to have these triggers apply to your cancellations.

Trigger "Water More Often When Hot"

1. Click on ZONES and PROGRAMS from the home dashboard.
2. Scroll down to the first zone you choose to edit. Click on the  icon.
3. Choose the watering type TIME-BASED SCHEDULE and click NEXT.
4. Change the watering frequency to INTERVAL BASED WATERING  number one.  Check the box for WATER MORE OFTEN WHEN HOT.
5. Scroll to the bottom of ZONES and PROGRAMS to create a 2nd start time. Follow the instructions below.

IMPORTANT: Make sure you have all zones selected for the start times created (or, at the very least, the zone you intend to "Water More Often When Hot").

Step 1

Choose the plus sign for "Add watering Time."

Step 2

Choose a "second start time" and click "next."

Step 4

Make sure you apply to the correct zones and click "ok."

Step 5

Set the one trigger highlighted accordingly.

When you check your Watering Schedule on the days that meet your watering triggers, extra watering will occur. For example, you will notice all watering that has been set to start at 6p.m. is "extra watering watering due to temperature."

 

Setting your frequency affects how this feature works. For it to work correctly, you must always have an extra program start time that is above your watering frequency. In our example, we used "water once a day" and created two program start times so extra watering can occur once. If you want to change this, you must ensure the above is met. For instance, if you have set watering to twice a day, you must create three program start times for the third program start time (the extra watering schedule) to take effect.

 

NOTE: Due to changes made to this setup, the extra zones do not show on the above screenshot because those are passed events on my watering schedule. At this time, due to weather changes, no extra watering has been scheduled. Thus, only past events were used in this example.

 

IMPORTANT: To ensure that "Water More Often When Hot" works, you need to have an extra program start time that is above your watering frequency. If you select "Every Available Program Start Time" as a watering frequency, this feature will not work because watering is already scheduled for all program start times.

 

The general calculation is:

<number of times per day> multiplied by (1 + <trigger percentage>) = number of watering times for the day (rounded down)

So, for once a day and a 50% trigger, the calculation is:

1 x (1 + 0.5) = 1.5 = once a day (rounded down)

Twice a day multiplied by (1 + trigger percentage) could be greater than 2 if the percentage is greater than 50%:

2 x (1 + 0.5) = 3 = 3 times a day

Twice a day multiplied by (1 + trigger percentage) with a trigger percentage of 100% would give you 4 times a day:

2 x (1 + 1) = 4 = 4 times a day

IMPORTANT: If you require multiple watering's per day, this is the one situation where low-priority watering times are useful. You could have a normal watering time of 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. and a low-priority time of 12 p.m., which will get used only if you are watering more often and you need a third cycle for the day.

 

Please feel free to test this setup as you see fit for your watering needs. Should you have further questions, send an email to support@hydrawise.com.

Trigger "Water Longer When Hot"

Click on "Zones and Schedules" from the home dashboard. Scroll down to the first zone you choose to edit. Click on the  icon.

1. Choose the watering type "Time Based Schedule" and click "next."
2. Check the adjust watering feature "water longer when hot" and click "ok."

STEP 1

STEP 2

Setting Trigger 

1. Click on the default "100%" from the top right water trigger. 
2. Adjust the "percentage" needed to water more and click "ok."
3. Click "Submit."
4. Using the slide bar, choose the "temperature" threshold.

NOTE: As an example, the zone using this trigger will water 15% longer when the temperature outside is above 85 degrees.

Setting Trigger: STEPS 1-3

Setting Trigger: STEP 4