Is this possible?

It turns out that yes.

We received a request from one of the visitors to our site many years ago, and this request seemed to us to be of interest to many. Therefore, I decided to write an article and post it on our website.

Hello!

I am planning an automated drip irrigation system for potted flowers in a private house. Please help to define the architecture and components.

Initial data: house of 600 squares: basement + 1 + 2 floors + insulated attic (winter). It is necessary to water the flowers automatically according to the schedule: on the windowsills (several pots on each) and indoors (on the floor, on the shelves). I deal directly with automation, but I have never done watering.

Initial thoughts on the project:

1. Install an irrigation barrel on the attic floor in those rooms and connect it to the water supply in the same way as the toilet flush cistern is organized (ie the mechanical shut-off valve).
2. Make the wiring with two vertical risers through all floors, and spread horizontally from these two risers along with the floors to the rooms under the ceiling (in a layer of plaster and behind tension/plasterboard (where depending on the finish). the wiring should be in a hatch in the area of ​​a cluster of flowers, in which there will be a distribution comb and then to each flower along a tube.

3. Watering the plants is done through the drippers at the end of each tube, the drippers above the ground on the holder.

4. Materials: droppers, capillaries and tees, main pipelines. Barrel. Solenoid valves, Fittings, Controllers - see "Automation".

5. Automation: In a barrel. Install a water leakage sensor on the floor in those rooms. Install an electric emergency shut-off valve on the supply pipeline in front of the tank and in front of the mechanical valve. Also, install a water meter with a pulse output on the supply pipe. At each outlet from the barrel (2 risers), install solenoid valves to turn on / off irrigation using the controller. To control the irrigation system, use a freely programmable controller with digital inputs/outputs and a counting input (counting counter pulses): here it tastes and colors: ARIES, Segnetics, Siemens LOGO, Wago, Beckhoff, Phoenix Contact, etc. I will probably focus on the Russian Segnetics with a Modbus transceiver for inclusion in a home automation network, a display and buttons for local control/monitoring since it suits me in terms of price/functionality/quality ratio (digital inputs, outputs), and to take meter measurements I will later select a controller with a Modbus interface ... Automation will allow watering plants on a schedule and prevent an emergency situation of water leakage: leakage sensors monitor the leakage in the room with the barrel, and the counter allows you to measure the amount of water used during irrigation with the reference (if it exceeds, it means a leak), in case of an emergency, the controller closes the emergency valve on the water supply to the barrel.

Questions:

1. Selection of materials and equipment - see the above questions and opinions on the account of my choice.

2. Do you approve of my wiring?

3. What hydraulic calculations are needed for the system to work?

4. Is it necessary to use valves that regulate pressure? If so, which ones and in what places?

5. Which tube to choose for horizontal wiring (on the ceiling and along the walls), if: you want the possibility of leakage in the wall to be excluded (either the absence of connections, i.e. the branches in the hatches on the walls in inconspicuous places, or connections that are 100% will not flow, or each consumer group has its own branch from the riser). The issue of price/quality ratio is important here. Probably either polypropylene pipes, in which the joints are welded and pressed, or thin reinforced PVC pipes to each group of consumers (then if you lower it from the ceiling onto the wall without a connection, then you will need to make smooth arcuate bends. And is there enough elasticity so that when laying in the plaster did not deform it)?

6. Tell me, are there such small combs to branch through the capillary tubes directly to the flowers?

7. Criticism/advice / your opinion in general?

As you can see, the letter is very detailed and requires the same answer. Such systems are widely used for landscaping residential and office premises in the West, for irrigating greenhouses and winter gardens. What should be the basis of the system?

Definitely a dropper. High quality external compensated dripper that gives an accurate standardized water flow per unit of time. These droppers include droppers of the "Super-Tief" models and similar ones. They are produced with a water flow rate of 1, 2, 4, 8 liters of water per hour, and equipped with labyrinth tips, work very clearly and reliably.

The labyrinth handpiece stabilizes the pressure on all handpieces attached to the same dripper, thus equalizing the flow rate of the drippers even when the individual pots are at different heights.

Pipes

For the installation of the system, polyethylene pipes must be used. The two main risers are 1 "(25mm) or 3/4" (16mm). Reinforced soft plastic pipes can also be recommended, but pay attention to their quality. Unfortunately, sometimes we come across weak ones that can hardly withstand even low pressure. For installation, we recommend special fittings of the appropriate size. The photo shows examples of flexible pipe installation. (Hose). Just as easily these fittings are mounted on a rigid polyethylene pipe with a wall thickness of up to 1.5 mm. To simplify installation, we recommend heating the polyethylene pipe in hot water.

For the installation of droppers, two standard sizes of polyethylene or PVC tubes are used. Final routing with 3/5 mm tubing (3mm inner and 5 outers) and distribution piping with 4/7 mm tubing. These tubings are available in both black and color: white, red, yellow, green, and blue. Sometimes, for decorative purposes, designers prefer to use colored tubes.

Classic black tubes.

Colored tubes.

Fitting

Several types of fittings are used to connect water supply and distribution pipes to irrigation devices such as drippers: Simple, inexpensive, and reliable fittings from the TV000 group. These fittings are assembled to pipes using a special tool and connected to each other using a precision taper connection. The category of these fittings also includes various adapters, taps, isolation valves, and drip tips.

TV000 group fittings, valves, plungers.

Various tips.

Cut off the tip on the vertical splitter and put on the second splitter on top. As a result, we can connect 8 tips and water, for example, 8 pots of flowers.

Below, fittings of the TF000 group.

Automation

Automation can be used for various levels of complexity, from simple controllers to a serious computer system. Nevertheless, we can recommend a simple system using the MERAV multichannel controller and the GEVA-75 solenoid valves.

There are two controller options, one with mains supply, the second - from the battery "Krona". The controller controls up to 8 independent taps, respectively, you can make up to 8 irrigation zones. In addition, there is a center tap that shuts off the water supply if none of the irrigation zones (irrigation groups) is turned on.

Additionally, you can connect a sensor, for example, a water spill sensor, which will block the system if, for example, a puddle appears on the floor.

Installation of the controller.

A panel is fixed on the wall, on which the controller is hung. If necessary, the controller can be easily removed, for example, to connect taps and a sensor.

Solenoid valves.

Automation option on GEVA-75 controllers.

Fertigation

Well, to make it really good, you should think about how not only to water the flowers but also to fertilize them along with watering. For this, there are fertigation systems based on proportional metering pumps. For this and similar projects, a simple assembly from the 1st pump may be suitable.

Additional equipment and recommendations.

In order for the system to work reliably and without failure, a reducer must be installed at the inlet, which will lower the pressure in the system to 1.2-1.5 atm. For the reliable operation of droppers, a pressure of about 1.0 atm is required. Since the project is designed to work in a two-story house, the pressure loss associated with height should be taken into account. For example, with a room height of 3 meters, the pressure difference will be 0.3 atm., That is, the water pressure on the second floor will be 0.3 atm. Below, in this case, it is advisable to install pressure regulators on each floor. This will ensure equal pressure regardless of the number of levels.

Installing filters is MANDATORY.

And the last device that it is desirable to mount in the system. This is the air valve. It allows you to safely discharge air from the system when it is started, which prevents the occurrence of water hammer and the system works reliably and silently.

If there is not enough pressure in your home water supply or it fluctuates significantly, you can use a plastic water container and a small pump. The required pump capacity is calculated based on the capacity of the connected drippers. For example, in a certain period of time, 50 droppers are simultaneously turned on, with a capacity of 2 liters of water per hour. The total consumption will be 100 liters of water per hour, which means that a small aquarium pump is fine for you.

The idea of making an automatic watering system in your home or office is quite interesting. There is a large field for creative imagination both for a designer who would like to put his creative fantasies into practice and for a technician who, using various materials and components, can design a flexible and at the same time universal irrigation system.

An example of office landscaping. Hall of the Hof Ashkelon District Council building.