IAPMO to Certify Soil-Moisture-Based Irrigation Controllers

WaterSense-labeled soil-based irrigation controllers save water and promote healthier plants.

IAPMO R&T, a third-party testing and certification body for plumbing, mechanical and water treatment products, has been transitionally approved and licensed to certify soil moisture-based irrigation controllers (also known as soil moisture sensors or SMSs) to EPA’s WaterSense spec.

36_Rachio_App_2-1Soil moisture-based irrigation controllers can detect the amount of moisture in the ground beneath the landscape and override scheduled irrigation when plants don’t need water, reducing water waste and promoting plant health. The controllers can be stand-alone or add-on or plug-in devices that can be used with an existing clock-timed controller for efficient watering. 

EPA estimates that installing a WaterSense-labeled SMS can save an average home with an automatic landscape irrigation system more than 15,000 gallons of water annually. If these sensors replaced clock-timers in all U.S. residential irrigation systems, it could save more than 390 billion gallons of water each year, says the EPA. 

View the new soil-moisture-based irrigation controller spec.   

IAPMO R&T has been a licensed provider of WaterSense certification since 2007, certifying the first high-efficiency toilet (HET) to the standard that year. IAPMO R&T has certified thousands of lavatory faucet, toilet, urinal, showerhead and weather-based irrigation controller models to the WaterSense specifications. Products bearing the WaterSense label not only save water, but also perform as well as or better than conventional models on the market.

Manufacturers wishing to have products identified as complying with WaterSense specifications must have them certified by a qualified third-party certification body such as IAPMO R&T, which is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) as a provider of certification services to WaterSense specifications.

Learn more about the WaterSense program.

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