Installing sprinklers provides you with a hands-free, automated method of watering your yard on a regular schedule. However, it's critical to use your sprinkler system in a way that will conserve water while saving you money that would otherwise evaporate into thin air.
Minimize Evaporation
By watering your yard or garden during the peak afternoon sun hours, you can lose up to 70 percent of your water to evaporation. When you turn your sprinkler system on when the sun is high in the sky, evaporation loss is inevitable.
This problem is easily addressed by setting your sprinkling system to turn on during the coldest hours of the day. The hours just before sunrise are the coldest; generally between 2 and 4am.
For maximum efficiency program your system to water your lawn at least 2 hours before sunrise. This schedule ensures that your soil will absorb the most water and that you will suffer the very least amount of water loss through evaporation.
Also, bear in mind that the average lawn needs about 1 inch of water per day to maintain health. To be sure that you are not over watering, leave a pan within range of your sprinkler and then measure the depth of the water after watering.
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