Friday, October 1, 2010

Once more, with feeling! Final WUEP research site is added.

This week I added a new research site to the urban landscape irrigation comparison study. Participating in Miami-Dade Extension’s Water-Use Efficiency Program (WUEP), the new site is only the second Homeowner’s Association (HOA) taking part in the research.


The system

The first retrofit phase occured in August, when the mechanical timer was replaced with the soil water sensor system and the TDT was buried in a sunny area under turf.




Thanks to the efficiency rebate the WUEP offers large HOA properties, we were able to install water meters on two irrigation zones during the second retrofit phase - upgrading from a six zone mechanical indexing valve to electric valves.






A water meter is installed on each experimental zone to monitor water-use and compare schedule-based to soil water sensor-based irrigation.


The end, but also the beginning

Undoubtedly the final research site installation of 2010, this property brings the site total to 15 for this year – this includes 10 complete retrofits and 5 meter installations on pre-existing digital systems.



In the meantime, the 2011 WUEP is kicking into high gear. This means dozens of new properties across Miami-Dade County on board for irrigation system assessments, and my search for additional properties ideal for the pair-wise study renewed.

1 comment: