There's a magic new bit of kit that will transform your lawn, keeping it green all summer. We're impressed!

If like me you are suffering from a very sad-looking lawn that is overly dry and scorched, you might be wondering if there is anything you can do to save your grass. As the weather forecast shows no signs of cooling down, and not a chance of rain, we must search for alternative solutions.

Let's be honest traditional sprinklers just aren’t cutting it at the moment, and hand watering isn’t practical in this heat. So what is the answer? This new innovation from Irrigreen is pioneering a new technology that might be just what you are looking for to save your backyard. 

We discover the new easy way to care for your lawn from the founder Shane Dyer, to understand how it works and how it might transform our lawn.

What is Irrigreen?

‘Instead of haphazardly spraying water like traditional systems, Irrigreen prints water,’ explains Shane. ‘The idea was born out of watching how inefficient traditional sprinklers were. My co-founder, Gary Klinefelter, has a background in inventing technology for inkjet printers. He actually holds patents in the space. So, he’s essentially an expert in placing liquids in very precise patterns on a surface,’ he says. 

Whilst that sounds very cool and futuristic, how does it actually work as a sprinkler? ‘Our sprinkler heads have 14 printer ports that print water at exact distances and precise patterns to lay an even coat of water across your lawn. The exact area is determined by a mobile app, controlled by the homeowner, and can be reprogrammed at any time.'  

'Irrigreen uses machine learning inside the sprinkler that leverages hyper-local weather data, including heat, wind, precipitation, and cloud cover to accurately predict the exact amount of water your lawn needs.’ 

Wow, finally a sprinkler system that listens to the needs of your lawn. Sounds too good to be true. 

(Image credit: Irrigreen)

What are the benefits of Irrigreen?

It is clear this technology thrives on precision, which has numerous benefits for you and your yard. 'Irrigreen systems use 50% of the water of traditional irrigation systems,' says Shane. 'Water is a scarce resource, and 2 billion gallons are wasted annually on the overlap and imprecise outdoor watering. If every lawn in America used Irrigreen, we would save 2 billion gallons of water every single year and still have green lawns.' 

The heatwave currently taking over central American states is causing renewed drought concerns. Making conscious decisions about water consumption is now part of our sustainable living practices, so why hasn't this translated into re-thinking your irrigation system? 

Not to mention the system is incredibly DIY friendly. No complicated setups or overly technical settings. 'Traditional Irrigation is difficult to DIY because there is a lot of trenching, mechanical valves, and parts. Irrigreen is 15% of the pipe and trenching and has no mechanical parts. You simply hook it up and press play on the app,' he explains.

Can everyone use Irrigreen?

'Anyone can replace or update outdated irrigation systems to save water. The system actually pays for itself in 3-5 years based on water bill savings,' says Shane.

However, this technology isn't ideal for every garden. 'Irrigreen is currently designed for residential lawn areas,' he explains, 'it would not work great to water more wooded areas, as trees can block the streams of water.'