Irrigation Controllers for Adjusting A Watering Schedule Based on Determined Drought Conditions and Associated Methods
Irrigation controllers, methods, and computer readable media for altering a watering schedule for an irrigation controller in accordance with determined drought conditions are disclosed. A drought category for a watering zone may be determined. An adjusted watering duration may be calculated based on the drought category. The watering schedule for the watering zone may be adjusted in accordance with the adjusted watering duration.
1 . An irrigation controller configured to adjust a watering schedule for a watering zone based on determined drought conditions, the irrigation controller comprising:
a set of one or more processors;
a watering schedule configurable to control irrigation of a watering zone, the watering schedule comprising a watering frequency and a watering duration for the watering zone;
a drought determination component configured to determine a drought category for the watering zone situated in an area to which the determined drought category has been assigned;
a drought factor component configured to determine a set of one or more drought factors associated with the determined drought category using at least one processor of the set of one or more processors, the set of one or more drought factors comprising a first drought factor;
a drought adjustment component configured to calculate an adjusted watering duration for the watering zone using at least one processor of the set of one or more processors, wherein the adjusted watering duration is calculated by multiplying the watering duration by the first drought factor, wherein, in response to determined drought conditions indicating that an area in which the watering zone is situated is in a dry condition, the first drought factor is greater than zero and less than 1.0 such that the adjusted watering duration is less than the watering duration; and
a watering schedule component configured to adjust the watering schedule for the watering zone in accordance with the adjusted watering duration.
2 . The irrigation controller of claim 1 , further comprising a user interface through which a user may specify the watering frequency and the watering duration for the watering zone, wherein the watering schedule component is further configured to formulate the watering schedule based on a user-specified watering frequency and watering duration for the watering zone.
3 - 5 . (canceled)
6 . The irrigation controller of claim 1 , further comprising a drought factor user interface through which a user may specify at least one drought factor of the set of one or more drought factors within a specified range.
7 . The irrigation controller of claim 1 , wherein the watering schedule component is further configured to adjust the watering schedule for the watering zone in accordance with an adjusted watering frequency, and wherein the adjusting the watering schedule in accordance with the adjusted watering frequency comprises:
determining a number of intervening non-watering days between a first watering day and a second watering day in accordance with the watering schedule; and
increasing the number of intervening non-watering days by adding a second drought factor of the set of one or more drought factors to the number of intervening non-watering days.
8 . (canceled)
9 . The irrigation controller of claim 1 , wherein the drought determination component is configured to determine the drought category based on user input specifying the drought category.
10 . The irrigation controller of claim 1 , wherein the drought determination component is configured to determine the drought category based on drought data and an estimated geographic location of the watering zone.
11 . The irrigation controller of claim 1 , wherein the irrigation controller comprises at least two of a server, a local device, and a mobile end-user device.
12 . A method for adjusting a watering schedule for an irrigation controller based on determined drought conditions, the method comprising:
determining a drought category for a watering zone situated in an area to which the determined drought category has been assigned, an irrigation controller being configurable to control irrigation of the watering zone in accordance with a watering schedule, the watering schedule comprising a watering frequency and a watering duration for the watering zone;
determining a set of one or more drought factors associated with the determined drought category using at least one processor of a set of one or more processors, wherein each processor of the set of one or more processors comprises a portion of the irrigation controller or is in electronic communication with the irrigation controller, the set of one or more drought factors comprising a first drought factor;
calculating an adjusted watering duration for the watering zone using at least one processor of the set of one or more processors, wherein the adjusted watering duration is calculated by multiplying the watering duration by the first drought factor, wherein, in response to determined drought conditions indicating that an area in which the watering zone is situated is in a dry condition, the first drought factor is greater than zero and less than 1.0 such that the adjusted watering duration is less than the watering duration; and
adjusting the watering schedule for the watering zone in accordance with the adjusted watering duration for the watering zone using at least one processor of the set of one or more processors.
13 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising:
receiving, via a user interface, user input specifying the watering frequency and the watering duration for the watering zone; and
formulating the watering schedule for the watering zone based on a user-specified watering frequency and watering duration for the watering zone.
14 - 16 . (canceled)
17 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising receiving user input via a drought factor user interface to specify at least one drought factor of the set of one or more drought factors within a specified range.
18 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the specified range is greater than or equal to 0.5 and less than or equal to 1.0.
19 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the drought category is determined based on user input specifying the drought category.
20 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising adjusting the watering schedule for the watering zone in accordance with an adjusted watering frequency, and wherein the adjusting the watering schedule in accordance with the adjusted watering frequency comprises:
determining a number of intervening non-watering days between a first watering day and a second watering day in accordance with the watering schedule; and
increasing the number of intervening non-watering days by adding a second drought factor of the set of one or more drought factors to the number of intervening non-watering days.
21 . A computer program product configured to adjust a watering schedule for an irrigation controller based on determined drought conditions, the computer program product comprising:
a non-transitory computer readable medium; and
computer program code, encoded on the non-transitory computer readable medium, configured to cause at least one processor of a set of one or more processors to perform steps comprising:
determining a drought category for a watering zone situated in an area to which the determined drought category has been assigned, an irrigation controller being configurable to control irrigation of the watering zone in accordance with a watering schedule, the watering schedule comprising a watering frequency and a watering duration for the watering zone;
determining a set of one or more drought factors associated with the determined drought category for the watering zone, the set of one or more drought factors comprising a first drought factor;
calculating an adjusted watering duration for the watering zone, wherein the adjusted watering duration is calculated by multiplying the watering duration by the first drought factor, wherein, in response to determined drought conditions indicating that an area in which the watering zone is situated is in a dry condition, the first drought factor is greater than zero and less than 1 . 0 such that the adjusted watering duration is less than the watering duration; and
adjusting the watering schedule for the watering zone in accordance with the adjusted watering duration for the watering zone.
22 . The computer program product of claim 21 , wherein the steps further comprise:
receiving, via a user interface, user input specifying the watering frequency and the watering duration for the watering zone; and
formulating the watering schedule for the watering zone based on a user-specified watering frequency and watering duration for the watering zone.
23 - 25 . (canceled)
26 . The computer program product of claim 21 , wherein the steps further comprise receiving user input via a drought factor user interface to specify at least one drought factor of the set of one or more drought factors within a specified range.
27 . The computer program product of claim 16 , wherein the specified range is greater than or equal to 0.5 and less than or equal to 1.0.
28 . (canceled)
29 . The computer program product of claim 21 , wherein the drought category is determined based on drought data and an estimated geographic location of the watering zone.