Lawn and garden sprinkler systems are becoming more popular because, let’s face it, no one wants to drag a hose around the yard on a beautiful summer day. They are common in residences with large yards or gardens, although people with small yards tend to install them now because they save time and money in the long run. Sprinkler systems installed on lawns can be powered by controllers and timers, and you can set an automatic watering schedule, provided your system is advanced enough to be programmed to do so.

BENEFITS OF SPRINKLER SYSTEMS

As we mentioned in our introduction, there are two main reasons why people choose a watering system. The first reason is time. The traditional way of watering the lawn means your physical presence, as well as the time set aside for this activity. When installing a sprinkler system, the sprinkler heads work for you, and you can spend that time doing something more productive.

In addition to that, think about your sprinkler system as protection of the investment you’ve made with your yard/garden. Having a fancy landscape surrounding the house isn’t cheap and by making sure that your greens stay healthy, it’s safe to say that your investment is in good hands.

COMPONENTS

Even if they have quite a number of components, it’s fairly easy to understand how lawn watering systems work. By understanding what each component does, you’ll be putting together the piece of a larger puzzle.
Shut-off valves are essential to pretty much every water appliance in your household. It is a means to completely turn off the water supply and it’s very useful in case there are any water leaks (mainly due to a broken pipe).
The backflow preventer is a device that keeps contaminants away from potable water, by blocking the water coming from your sprinkler systems to reach the municipal water supply.

Yards that have more than one sprinkler installed are divided into sprinkler zones. These zones are measured precisely so that that water coming from two different heads won’t overlap and cause overwatering of certain patches of grass. By diving your yard into zones, it’s easier to configure the overall sprinkle system watering pattern.

Even if there are several pipe ramifications that form the complete system, there is a main line that helps supply them. This is buried underground. How deep are sprinkler lines buried, you ask? It depends on the lawn but the standard to aim for is about 6-12 inches.

The zone lines are defined by the pipes supply by the main line. These pipes will draw water from the source into each specific sprinkler zone.
Ever sprinkler zone has a valve that controls the water in that area. Just as you can turn off the main valve that supplies the main pipe, you can also turn off valves individually, in case there is leakage in a specific area.
Sprinkler heads, which are often referred to as spigots, are those tiny devices that pop out of the ground and spray water on your lawn.

The controller lies at the core of a sprinkler irrigation system. It’s how you command each sprinkler zone. The more advanced the system is, the more things you can tell your controller to do: like program the sprinkler to start watering every day, at a given hour.

By putting all the aforementioned components together, here is how a lawn watering system works. Water comes to your home via the main supply pipe. The shut-off valve is placed right at the beginning of this connection and you have to shut it down before you begin connecting the pipes required by a sprinkler system. Moving past the shut-off valve, you can find the backflow preventer. Then, you have the individual valves for every sprinkler area. These valves retain the flow of water until an electrical current opens them.This electrical current is given by the controller, which is the brains of the entire operation. Once that flow of water is released into a specific area, all the sprinkler heads in that area will start watering your lawn.