Irrigation water conservation with automated water budgeting and time of use technology

• US 8,620,480 B2
• Filed: 11/29/2010
• Issued: 12/31/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/25/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hunter Industries Incorporated
• Original Assignee: George Alexanian
• Inventors: Alexanian, George
• Primary Examiner(s): VON BUHR, MARIA N
• Application Number:
  US12/955,839
• Publication Number:
  US 20110093123A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,128 Days
• Field of Search: 700/284, 239 68- 70, 239/723, 137 781- 783, 13762411-62415, 137/624.21, 405/36, 405/37
• US Class Current: 700/284
• CPC Class Codes: A01G 25/16 Control of watering
• CPC Class Codes: Y02A 40/10 in agriculture

Abstract

The present invention provides a multitude of embodiments for landscape water conservation with automated water budgeting or seasonal adjustment. Water budget automation may be implemented within an irrigation controller, by means of an add-on or a plug-in to the controller, or broadcast from a central location. The environmental data used for automated water budgeting may be historical including ambient temperature, wind, solar radiation, relative humidity, soil moisture, soil temperature, or evapotranspiration, or combinations thereof, or with a combination of current sensor data. The automated water budgeting may be accomplished with a percentage accumulation method which adjusts watering intervals and schedules, or on a daily percentage basis. In addition, government based restricted watering schedules may be combined within all the above embodiments to provide additional flexibility for water conservation.

Claims

1. An irrigation system comprising an outdoor located ground mounted enclosure, a controller having an irrigation schedule provided inside said enclosure, and an air temperature sensor located near ground level inside said enclosure in communication with said controller, wherein said controller has programming for smart water technology to use data from said temperature sensor to automatically adjust said irrigation schedule.

2. The irrigation system of claim 1 wherein said smart water technology is selected from the group of water percentage budgeting based, evapotranspiration based, soil moisture based, solar radiation based, and combinations thereof.

3. The irrigation system of claim 1 wherein said smart water technology is water percentage budgeting.

4. The irrigation system of claim 1 further comprising programming for automated non-watering times restrictions, and a user selection between said smart water technology and said automated watering restrictions.

5. The irrigation system of claim 1 further comprising at least one additional environmental sensor selected from the group of precipitation, solar radiation, relative humidity, wind, and combinations thereof.

6. The irrigation system of claim 1 further comprising at least one non-watering times restriction and programming in said controller to prevent watering when not allowed according to an implemented non-watering times restriction.

7. The irrigation system of claim 6 wherein said non-watering times restriction is selected from the group of restricted times of the day, restricted days of the week, restricted days of the month, seasonally variable restrictions, and combinations thereof.

8. A method of automatically adjusting an irrigation schedule in a controller comprising the steps of:

a. providing said controller inside an outdoor located ground mounted enclosure, wherein said enclosure includes an air temperature sensor located therein near ground level in communication with said controller;

b. said controller automatically periodically comparing current local environmental data obtained from said temperature sensor to stored local geo-environmental data to determine a water budget percentage; and

c. said controller automatically periodically adjusting said irrigation schedule according to said water budget percentage.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein said irrigation schedule comprises at least one station run time, and said step of adjusting said irrigation schedule according to said water budget percentage comprises changing at least one station run time.

10. The method of claim 8 wherein said stored local geo-environmental data comprises evapotranspiration data.

11. The method of claim 8 comprising the additional step of said controller automatically preventing watering according to an automatically implemented governmental non-watering times restriction.

12. The method of claim 11 comprising the additional step of automatically changing the watering restriction to be implemented.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein said non-watering time restriction is selected from the group of restricted times of the day, restricted days of the week, restricted days of the month, seasonally variable restrictions, and combinations thereof.

14. The method of claim 11 comprising the additional step of accumulating said water budget percentages until watering is allowed according to said watering restrictions.

15. A method of automatically adjusting an irrigation schedule in a controller comprising the steps of:

a. providing said controller inside an outdoor located ground mounted enclosure, wherein said enclosure includes an air temperature sensor located therein near ground level in communication with said controller;

b. providing said controller with smart water technology selected from the group of automated water percentage budgeting, evapotranspiration, solar radiation and soil moisture based; and

c. said controller automatically adjusting said irrigation schedule according to said smart water technology using data from said temperature sensor.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein said irrigation schedule comprises at least one station run time, and said step of adjusting said irrigation schedule according to said smart water technology comprises changing at least one station run time.

17. The method of claim 15 comprising the additional step of said controller periodically comparing current local environmental data from said temperature sensor to historical local geo-environmental data to determine a water budget percentage, and said step of adjusting said irrigation schedule uses said percentage.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein said historical environmental data comprises evapotranspiration data.

19. The method of claim 17 comprising the additional step of accumulating said water budget percentages until watering is allowed according to an automatically implemented governmental non-watering times restriction.

20. The method of claim 15 comprising the additional step of said controller automatically preventing watering according to an automatically implemented governmental non-watering times restriction.

21. The method of claim 20 wherein said non-watering time restriction is selected from the group of restricted times of the day, restricted days of the week, restricted days of the month, seasonally variable restrictions, and combinations thereof.

22. A method of automatically changing an irrigation schedule of a controller at a location comprising the steps of:

a. providing said controller inside an outdoor located ground mounted enclosure at said location, wherein said enclosure includes an air temperature sensor located therein near ground level;

b. providing a separate module wired to said controller;

c. providing said module with historical environmental data for said location;

d. providing current environmental data to said module from said temperature sensor;

e. said module periodically comparing said current local environmental data to said historical environmental data to determine a water budget percentage; and

f. said module automatically causing adjustment to said irrigation schedule according to said water budget percentage.

23. The method of claim 22 wherein said irrigation schedule comprises at least one station run time, and said step of adjusting said irrigation schedule according to said water budget percentage comprises changing at least one station run time.

24. The method of claim 22 wherein said historical environmental data is selected from the group of evapotranspiration, precipitation, ambient temperature, wind, solar radiation, relative humidity, extraterrestrial radiation, and combinations thereof.

25. The method of claim 22 further comprising at least one additional environmental sensor in communication with said module, said additional environmental sensor being selected from the group of precipitation, solar radiation, wind, relative humidity, and combinations thereof.

26. The method of claim 22 comprising the additional step of providing said controller with data from at least one additional environmental sensor selected from the group of precipitation, solar radiation, relative humidity, wind, freeze and combinations thereof.

27. The method of claim 22 comprising the additional steps of:

a. providing said separate module with governmental watering restrictions; and

b. allowing irrigation by said controller based upon said water budget when allowed by said watering restrictions.

28. The method of claim 27 wherein said governmental watering restrictions are selected from the group of restricted times of the day, restricted days of the week, restricted days of the month, seasonally variable restrictions, and combinations thereof.

29. A self-contained irrigation system comprising:

a. an outdoor located ground mounted enclosure;

b. an irrigation controller with a microprocessor located within said enclosure programmed with an irrigation schedule and stored local geo-environmental data;

c. an air temperature sensor located near ground level within said enclosure in communication with said microprocessor;

d. programming in said microprocessor to determine a water budget percentage by comparing current local environmental data from said sensor to said stored local geo-environmental data; and

e. said microprocessor having programming to adjust said irrigation schedule according to said water budget percentage.

30. The irrigation system of claim 29 wherein said irrigation schedule comprises at least one station run time.

31. The irrigation system of claim 29 wherein said stored local geo-environmental data comprises a member selected from the group of:

evapotranspiration data, temperature data, precipitation data, rain data, wind data, relative humidity data, solar radiation data and combinations thereof.

32. The irrigation system of claim 29 further comprising at least one additional environmental sensor selected from the group of precipitation, solar radiation, relative humidity, wind, freeze and combinations thereof.

33. The irrigation system of claim 29 further comprising at least one governmental watering restriction provided to said controller, and programming in said controller to automatically prevent watering according to an implemented governmental watering restriction.

34. The irrigation system of claim 29 further comprising at least one non-watering times restriction and programming in said microprocessor to prevent watering when not allowed according to an implemented non-watering times restriction.

35. The irrigation system of claim 34 wherein said non-watering times restriction is selected from the group of restricted times of the day, restricted days of the week, restricted days of the month, seasonally variable restrictions, and combinations thereof.

36. A method of affecting the operation of an irrigation controller having a microprocessor comprising the steps of:

a. providing said controller inside an outdoor located ground mounted enclosure, said controller being in communication with an air temperature sensor located inside said enclosure near ground level for providing current temperature data to said controller;

b. providing said microprocessor with historical geo-environmental data;

c. said microprocessor periodically determining a water budget percentage by comparing said temperature data to said historical geo-environmental data; and

d. affecting the operation of said controller based upon.

37. The method of claim 36 wherein said historical environmental data comprises a member selected from the group of:

evapotranspiration data, temperature data, precipitation data, rain data, wind data, relative humidity data, solar radiation data and combinations thereof.

38. The method of claim 36 comprising the additional step of providing said controller with data from at least one additional environmental sensor selected from the group of precipitation, solar radiation, relative humidity, wind, freeze and combinations thereof.

39. The method of claim 36 comprising the additional step of said controller automatically preventing watering according to an automatically implemented non-watering times restriction.

40. The method of claim 39 wherein said non-watering time restriction is selected from the group of restricted times of the day, restricted days of the week, restricted days of the month, seasonally variable restrictions, and combinations thereof.

41. A method of automatically adjusting an irrigation schedule of a controller comprising the steps of:

a. providing said controller inside an ground mounted outdoor located enclosure, wherein said enclosure includes an air temperature sensor located therein near ground level in communication with said controller;

b. providing said controller with smart water technology;

c. instructing said controller to automatically adjust said irrigation schedule according to the smart water technology of said controller using data from said temperature sensor.

42. The method of claim 41 comprising the additional step of said controller automatically preventing watering according to an automatically implemented non-watering times restriction.

43. The method of claim 42 wherein said non-watering times restriction is selected from the group of restricted times of the day, restricted days of the week, restricted days of the month, seasonally variable restrictions, and combinations thereof.

44. The method of claim 41 wherein said smart water technology is selected from the group of water percentage budgeting, evapotranspiration, soil moisture based, solar radiation, and combinations thereof.

45. The method of claim 41 wherein said smart water technology is water percentage budgeting based on temperature budgeting.

46. The method of claim 41 comprising the additional step of providing said controller with data from at least one additional environmental sensor selected from the group of precipitation, solar radiation, relative humidity, wind, freeze and combinations thereof.

47. An irrigation system comprising:

a. an irrigation controller provided inside an outdoor located ground mounted enclosure, said controller having an input port;

b. a separate module in communication with said controller through said input port; and

c. an air temperature sensor located inside said enclosure near ground level in communication with said module;

wherein said module is provided with stored geo-environmental data, and has programming to determine a water budget percentage by comparing current data from said sensor to said stored geo-environmental data, and programming to communicate said water budget percentage to said controller through said input port.

48. The irrigation system of claim 47 further comprising at least one additional environmental sensor selected from the group of precipitation, solar radiation, relative humidity, wind, freeze and combinations thereof.

49. The irrigation system of claim 47 further comprising at least one governmental watering restriction provided to said module, and programming in said module to automatically prevent watering according to an implemented governmental watering restriction.

50. A self-contained outdoor smart irrigation system comprising:

a. a controller having an irrigation schedule provided in an outdoor located ground mounted enclosure;

b. an air temperature sensor located within said enclosure near ground level;

c. a microprocessor in said controller capable of determining a water budget percentage by comparing stored geo-environmental data to data from said sensor;

d. said microprocessor capable of adjusting said irrigation schedule based on said water budget percentage.

51. The irrigation system of claim 50 further comprising at least one watering times restriction and programming to automatically implement at least one watering times restriction and prevent watering according to said implemented restriction.

52. The irrigation system of claim 51 wherein said at least one watering times restriction is selected from the group of restricted times of the day, restricted days of the week, restricted days of the month, seasonally variable restrictions, and combinations thereof.

53. A method of automatically adjusting an irrigation schedule in a controller provided inside an outdoor located ground mounted enclosure, said enclosure having an air temperature sensor provided therein near ground level in communication with said controller comprising the steps of:

a. said controller automatically preventing watering according to an implemented governmental watering restriction;

b. said controller periodically comparing current temperature data from said sensor to stored local geo-environmental data to determine a water budget percentage; and

c. said controller periodically adjusting said irrigation schedule according to said water budget percentage when allowed according to said implemented watering restriction.

54. A self-contained irrigation system comprising:

a. an irrigation controller mounted within an outdoor located ground mounted enclosure, the controller having self-adjusting technology;

b. an air temperature sensor located near ground level inside said enclosure, and at least one additional environmental sensor mounted within or upon said outdoor enclosure; and

c. a microprocessor within said controller that uses data from said temperature sensor to automatically adjust an irrigation schedule of said controller.

55. The irrigation system of claim 54 wherein said microprocessor is capable of using data from said sensor to automatically determine an irrigation schedule of said controller.

56. The self-contained irrigation system of claim 54 wherein said additional environmental sensor is selected from the group of precipitation, solar radiation, relative humidity, wind and combinations thereof.

57. The self-contained irrigation system of claim 54 powered by AC, DC, battery, solar, or ambient light.

58. The irrigation system of claim 54 further comprising at least one non-watering times restriction and programming in said microprocessor to prevent watering when not allowed according to an implemented non-watering times restriction.

59. The irrigation system of claim 58 wherein said non-watering times restriction is selected from the group of restricted times of the day, restricted days of the week, restricted days of the month, seasonally variable restrictions, and combinations thereof.

60. A self-contained irrigation system comprising:

a. a self-adjusting irrigation controller with a microprocessor provided within an outdoor located ground mounted enclosure;

b. an air temperature sensor located near ground level within said enclosure in communication with said microprocessor;

c. said controller microprocessor being capable of adjusting at least one irrigation schedule based on data from said temperature sensor.

61. The self-contained irrigation system of claim 60 further comprising at least one additional environmental sensor selected from the group of precipitation, solar radiation, relative humidity, wind, freeze, and combinations thereof.

62. The irrigation controller of claim 60 further comprising self-adjusting technology selected from the group of evapotranspiration based and water budget percentage based.

63. The irrigation controller of claim 62 wherein said self-adjusting technology is capable of changing one of the group of:

station run times, cycle start times, watering days, watering intervals, and combinations thereof.

64. The irrigation system of claim 60 further comprising at least one non-watering times restriction and programming in said microprocessor to prevent watering when not allowed according to an implemented non-watering times restriction.

65. The irrigation system of claim 64 wherein said non-watering times restriction is selected from the group of restricted times of the day, restricted days of the week, restricted days of the month, seasonally variable restrictions, and combinations thereof.

66. A self-adjusting outdoor irrigation system comprising:

a. a controller provided within an outdoor located ground mounted enclosure;

b. a microprocessor in said controller programmed with an irrigation schedule and historical geo-environmental data for said location; and

c. an air temperature sensor located near ground level within said outdoor enclosure and at least one additional environmental sensor for providing current environmental data to said microprocessor,

wherein said microprocessor is capable of automatically adjusting said irrigation schedule according to a comparison of said current environmental data and said historical geo-environmental data for said location.

67. The irrigation system of claim 66 wherein said historical geo-environmental data is selected from the group of evapotranspiration data, temperature data, solar radiation data, wind data, precipitation data, relative humidity data, and combinations thereof.

68. The irrigation system of claim 66 further comprising at least one irrigation shut down sensor.

69. The irrigation system of claim 68 wherein said at least one irrigation shut down sensor is selected from the group of precipitation, freeze, wind, relative humidity, and combinations thereof.

70. The irrigation system of claim 66 wherein said additional environmental sensor is selected from the group comprising of solar radiation, precipitation, wind, relative humidity, and combinations thereof.

71. The irrigation system of claim 66 further comprising at least one non-watering times restriction and programming in said microprocessor to prevent watering when not allowed according to an implemented non-watering times restriction.

72. The irrigation system of claim 71 wherein said non-watering times restriction is selected from the group of restricted times of the day, restricted days of the week, restricted days of the month, seasonally variable restrictions, and combinations thereof.

73. A self-adjusting irrigation controller comprising:

a. an outdoor located ground mounted enclosure;

b. an air temperature sensor located within said enclosure near ground level; and

c. a microprocessor in said controller located within said enclosure that is capable of automatically adjusting an irrigation schedule based upon data from said temperature sensor and historical geo-environmental data programmed into said controller microprocessor.

74. The controller of claim 73 wherein said historical geo-environmental data is selected from the group of evapotranspiration data, temperature data, solar radiation data, wind data, precipitation data, relative humidity data, and combinations thereof.

75. The controller of claim 73 further comprising at least one additional environmental sensor selected from the group of solar radiation, wind, relative humidity, precipitation, and combinations thereof.

76. The controller of claim 73 further comprising programming that is capable of automating a water budget percentage feature of said controller.

77. The controller of claim 73 further comprising a power source selected from the group of:

AC, DC, battery, solar and ambient light.

78. The controller of claim 73 further comprising at least one irrigation shut down sensor selected from the group of precipitation, freeze, wind, relative humidity, and combinations thereof.

79. The controller of claim 73 wherein the automatic adjustment of said irrigation schedule comprises adjusting at least one station run time.

80. The controller of claim 73 wherein the automatic adjustment of said irrigation schedule comprises adjusting watering days.

81. The controller of claim 73 further comprising at least one non-watering times restriction and programming in said microprocessor to prevent watering when not allowed according to an implemented non-watering times restriction.

82. The controller of claim 81 wherein said non-watering times restriction is selected from the group of restricted times of the day, restricted days of the week, restricted days of the month, seasonally variable restrictions, and combinations thereof.

83. A method of providing self-adjusting irrigation technology in an outdoor located ground mounted enclosure without remotely located environmental sensors comprising the steps of:

a. providing an irrigation controller within said enclosure, said controller having programming for self-adjusting irrigation;

b. placing an air temperature sensor near ground level within said enclosure in communication with said controller; and

c. said controller periodically using data from said temperature sensor to implement said self-adjusting irrigation technology.

84. The method of claim 83 comprising the additional step of placing at least one additional environmental sensor within or upon said enclosure in communication with said controller.

85. The method of claim 84 wherein said at least one additional environmental sensor is selected form the group of solar radiation, relative humidity, wind, precipitation, freeze, and combinations thereof.

86. The method of claim 83 wherein said self-adjusting technology is selected from the group consisting of:

evapotranspiration based and water budget percentage based.

87. The method of claim 83 comprising the additional step of said controller automatically preventing watering according to an automatically implemented non-watering times restriction.

88. The method of claim 87 wherein said non-watering time restriction is selected from the group of restricted times of the day, restricted days of the week, restricted days of the month, seasonally variable restrictions, and combinations thereof.

89. A self-contained irrigation apparatus located within an outdoor located ground mounted enclosure comprising:

a. an irrigation controller within said enclosure, said controller further comprising a microprocessor with a water budget percentage feature and an irrigation schedule;

b. a separate module programmed with historical geo-environmental data for said location also located within said enclosure in communication with said controller microprocessor;

c. an air temperature sensor located near ground level within said enclosure for periodically providing current temperature data to said module; and

d. said module capable of determining a water budget percentage by comparing said historical geo-environmental data to said temperature sensor data and communicating said percentage to said irrigation controller microprocessor.

90. The irrigation apparatus of claim 89 wherein the controller microprocessor is capable of adjusting its irrigation schedule according to said determined water budget percentage.

91. The irrigation apparatus of claim 89 further comprising at least one additional sensor selected from the group of precipitation, solar radiation, relative humidity, and combinations thereof.

92. The irrigation apparatus of claim 89 further comprising at least one irrigation shut down sensor selected from the group of precipitation, relative humidity, wind, freeze, and combinations thereof.

93. The irrigation apparatus of claim 90 wherein the adjustment to said irrigation schedule is selected from the group of:

station run times, irrigation cycle start times, watering days, watering intervals, and combinations thereof.

94. The irrigation apparatus of claim 89 further comprising at least one non-watering times restriction and programming in said controller microprocessor to prevent watering when not allowed according to an implemented non-watering times restriction.

95. The irrigation apparatus of claim 94 wherein said non-watering times restriction is selected from the group of restricted times of the day, restricted days of the week, restricted days of the month, seasonally variable restrictions, and combinations thereof.

96. The irrigation apparatus of claim 89 further comprising at least one non-watering times restriction and programming in said module microprocessor to prevent watering when not allowed according to an implemented non-watering times restriction.

97. The irrigation apparatus of claim 96 wherein said non-watering times restriction is selected from the group of restricted times of the day, restricted days of the week, restricted days of the month, seasonally variable restrictions, and combinations thereof.

98. A method of automating the water budget feature of an irrigation controller provided inside an outdoor located ground mounted enclosure comprising the steps of:

a. providing a separate module within said enclosure, said module having historical geo-environmental data for said location;

b. locating an air temperature sensor near ground level within said enclosure in communication with said module;

c. said temperature sensor periodically providing current temperature data to said module;

d. said module determining a water budget percentage by comparing said historical geo-environmental data to said current temperature data;

e. said module communicating said water budget percentage to said controller through an available input port; and

f. said controller automating said water budget feature using said communicated water budget percentage.

99. The method of claim 98 comprising the additional step of providing said existing controller with an irrigation shut down sensor selected from to group of precipitation, freeze, wind, relative humidity, and combinations thereof.

100. The method of claim 98 comprising the additional step of adjusting at least one station run time of said controller using said water budget percentage.

101. The method of claim 98 comprising the additional step of said controller automatically preventing watering according to an automatically implemented non-watering times restriction programmed into said controller.

102. The method of claim 101 wherein said non-watering time restriction is selected from the group of restricted times of the day, restricted days of the week, restricted days of the month, seasonally variable restrictions, and combinations thereof.

103. The method of claim 98 comprising the additional step of said module automatically preventing watering according to an automatically implemented non-watering time restrictions programmed into said module.

104. The method of claim 103 wherein said non-watering time restriction is selected from the group of restricted times of the day, restricted days of the week, restricted days of the month, seasonally variable restrictions, and combinations thereof.

105. An irrigation system comprising:

a. an irrigation controller having a water budget feature located within an outdoor located ground mounted enclosure;

b. a separate module located within said enclosure in communication with said controller, said module having programming to automate the water budget feature of said controller using temperature data;

c. an air temperature sensor located near ground level within said enclosure for periodically providing said module with said temperature data; and

d. a power source for said system selected from the group of AC, DC, solar, battery, and ambient light.

106. The irrigation system of claim 105 further comprising at least one non-watering times restriction and programming in said module to prevent watering when not allowed according to an implemented non-watering times restriction.

107. The irrigation system of claim 106 wherein said non-watering times restriction is selected from the group of restricted times of the day, restricted days of the week, restricted days of the month, seasonally variable restrictions, and combinations thereof.

108. A method of operating a self-adjusting controller having an irrigation schedule located in an outdoor located ground mounted enclosure comprising the steps of:

a. placing an air temperature sensor near ground level within said enclosure;

b. periodically providing temperature data from said temperature sensor to said controller; and

c. said controller modifying said irrigation schedule according to said temperature data.

109. The method of claim 108 comprising the additional step of said controller automatically preventing watering according to an automatically implemented non-watering times restriction.

110. The method of claim 109 wherein said non-watering time restriction is selected from the group of restricted times of the day, restricted days of the week, restricted days of the month, seasonally variable restrictions, and combinations thereof.

111. The method of claim 108 comprising the additional step of providing said self-adjusting controller with at least one additional sensor selected from the group of precipitation, solar radiation, relative humidity, freeze, wind, and combinations thereof.

112. A self-adjusting irrigation controller having an irrigation schedule located in an outdoor located ground mounted enclosure comprising:

a. an air temperature sensor located near ground level within said enclosure and at least one additional environmental sensor located within or upon said enclosure, and

b. programming in said controller to adjust said irrigation schedule according to data provided by said temperature sensor and said at least one additional environmental sensor.

113. The irrigation controller of claim 112 wherein said at least one additional sensor is selected from the group of precipitation, relative humidity, solar radiation, wind, freeze, and combinations thereof.

114. The irrigation controller of claim 112 further comprising at least one non-watering times restriction and programming in said controller to prevent watering when not allowed according to an implemented non-watering times restriction.

115. The irrigation controller of claim 114 wherein said non-watering times restriction is selected from the group of restricted times of the day, restricted days of the week, restricted days of the month, seasonally variable restrictions, and combinations thereof.

116. A self-contained irrigation system comprising:

a. a self-adjusting irrigation controller with an irrigation schedule provided within an outdoor located ground mounted enclosure;

b. an air temperature sensor located near ground level within said enclosure and at least one additional environmental sensor located within or upon said enclosure; and

c. a microprocessor in said controller capable of using data from said at least one environmental sensor and said temperature sensor to automatically modify said irrigation schedule based on evapotranspiration or water budget percentage technology.

117. The irrigation system of claim 116 where said controller is powered by one of the group of:

solar, battery, DC, ambient light, and AC.

118. The irrigation system of claim 116 wherein said at least one additional sensor is selected from the group of precipitation, relative humidity, solar radiation, wind, freeze, and combinations thereof.

119. The irrigation system of claim 116 further comprising at least one non-watering times restriction and programming in said microprocessor to prevent watering when not allowed according to an implemented non-watering times restriction.

120. The irrigation system of claim 119 wherein said non-watering times restriction is selected from the group of restricted times of the day, restricted days of the week, restricted days of the month, seasonally variable restrictions, and combinations thereof.

121. A self-contained, self-adjusting irrigation system comprising:

a. an outdoor located ground mounted enclosure;

b. a self-adjusting irrigation controller having a microprocessor located within said enclosure; and

c. an air temperature sensor located near ground level within said enclosure;

wherein said controller microprocessor is capable of adjusting at least one irrigation schedule based on data from said temperature sensor.

122. The irrigation system of claim 121 wherein the self-adjusting technology of said controller is selected from the group of:

evapotranspiration based and water budget percentage based.

123. The irrigation system of claim 121 further comprising at least one non-watering times restriction and programming in said controller microprocessor to prevent watering when not allowed according to an implemented non-watering times restriction.

124. The irrigation system of claim 123 wherein said non-watering times restriction is selected from the group of restricted times of the day, restricted days of the week, restricted days of the month, seasonally variable restrictions, and combinations thereof.

125. The irrigation system of claim 121 wherein said controller is battery, solar, or ambient light powered.

126. The irrigation system of claim 121 further comprising an additional sensor selected from the group of precipitation, solar radiation, relative humidity, wind, and combinations thereof, said additional sensor being located within or upon said ground mounted enclosure.

127. A method of adjusting an irrigation schedule of an irrigation controller in an outdoor located ground mounted enclosure comprising the steps of:

a. providing said irrigation controller with self-adjusting technology;

b. placing an air temperature sensor near ground level within said enclosure to provide current ambient temperature data to said controller;

c. providing historic geo-environmental data for said location to said controller;

d. said controller periodically determining a water budget percentage by comparing said historic geo-environmental data to said current ambient temperature sensor data; and

e. said controller automatically adjusting said irrigation schedule according to said determined water budget percentage.

128. The method of claim 127 comprising the additional step of providing at least one additional environmental sensor within or upon said enclosure, said sensor being selected from the group of relative humidity, solar radiation, precipitation, wind, and combinations thereof.

129. The method of claim 127 wherein said self-adjusting technology is water budget percentage based or evapotranspiration based.

130. The method of claim 127 comprising the additional steps of:

a. providing at least one irrigation shut down sensor within or upon said enclosure, said shut down sensor being selected from the group of relative humidity, precipitation, wind, freeze, and combinations thereof, and

b. shutting down irrigation based on input from said shut down sensor.

131. The method of claim 127 comprising the additional step of powering said irrigation controller from a source selected from the group of AC, DC, battery, solar, and ambient light.

132. The method of claim 127 wherein said step of adjusting said irrigation schedule comprises modifying one of the group of:

station run times, watering start times, watering intervals, watering days, and combinations thereof.

136. The method of claim 127 comprising the additional steps of accumulating water budget percentages and preventing irrigation until a threshold of percentages is reached.

137. The method of claim 127 comprising the additional step of said controller automatically preventing watering according to an automatically implemented non-watering times restriction.

133. The method of 127 comprising the additional step of providing said irrigation controller with a schedule of allowed watering times.

134. The method of claim 133 with the additional step of allowing irrigation by said irrigation controller when allowed according to said schedule of watering times.

135. The method of claim 133 wherein said schedule of allowed watering times is selected from the group of restricted times of the day, restricted days of the week, restricted days of the month, seasonally variable restrictions, and combinations thereof.

138. A self-adjusting irrigation system comprising:

a. an irrigation controller with a microprocessor and a power source mounted within an outdoor located ground mounted enclosure;

b. an air temperature sensor located near ground level within said enclosure in communication with said controller;

c. at least one additional environmental sensor located within or upon said enclosure in communication with said controller;

d. said microprocessor receiving and using data from said temperature and said additional environmental sensor to automatically adjust an irrigation schedule of said controller.

139. The irrigation system of claim 138 further comprising at least one additional environmental sensor selected from the group of solar radiation, precipitation, relative humidity, wind, and combinations thereof.

140. The irrigation system of claim 138 further comprising at least one non-watering times restriction and programming in said controller to prevent watering when not allowed according to an implemented non-watering times restriction.

141. The irrigation system of claim 140 wherein said non-watering times restriction is selected from the group of restricted times of the day, restricted days of the week, restricted days of the month, seasonally variable restrictions, and combinations thereof.

142. An irrigation system comprising:

a. an irrigation controller housed within an outdoor located ground mounted enclosure; and

b. an air temperature sensor within said enclosure located near ground level in communication with said controller for providing temperature data to said controller.

143. The irrigation system of claim 142 wherein said controller is programmed with smart water technology.

144. The irrigation system of claim 143 wherein said smart water technology is based on one of the group of evapotranspiration, water percentage budgeting, relative humidity, and solar radiation.

145. The irrigation system of claim 143 wherein said controller is further programmed with at least one restricted watering schedule.

146. The irrigation system of claim 142 wherein said controller is powered by one of:

AC, DC, battery, solar, and ambient light.

147. The irrigation system of claim 142 further comprising an irrigation shut down sensor selected from the group of freeze, relative humidity, precipitation, wind, and combinations thereof.

148. The irrigation system of claim 142 wherein said controller is capable of using said temperature data to adjust an irrigation schedule of said controller.

149. The irrigation system of claim 142 wherein said controller is capable of using said temperature data to determine an irrigation schedule for said controller.

150. The irrigation system of claim 142 further comprising at least one additional sensor in communication with said controller selected from the group of precipitation, solar radiation, wind, relative humidity, and combinations thereof.

151. An irrigation system comprising an outdoor located ground mounted enclosure, a controller programmed with smart water technology and an irrigation schedule provided inside said enclosure, and an air temperature sensor located near ground level inside said enclosure in communication with said controller for providing environmental data to said controller for use in adjusting said irrigation schedule according to said smart water technology.

152. The irrigation system of claim 151 wherein said controller is programmed with the additional capability of automatically implementing non-watering time restrictions.

153. The irrigation system of claim 152 wherein said non-watering time restrictions are selected from the group of restricted times of the day, restricted days of the week, restricted days of the month, seasonally variable restrictions, and combinations thereof.

154. The irrigation system of claim 151 further comprising an additional sensor selected from the group of a solar radiation sensor, a precipitation sensor, a relative humidity sensor, a freeze sensor, and a wind sensor, and combinations thereof.

155. The irrigation system of claim 151 wherein said smart water technology is selected from the group of water percentage budgeting based, evapotranspiration based, soil moisture based, relative humidity based, solar radiation based, and combinations thereof.

156. The irrigation system of claim 151 wherein said smart water technology is water percentage budgeting.

157. The irrigation system of claim 151 further comprising a user selection between said smart water technology and automated watering restrictions.

158. An irrigation system comprising:

a. a controller including a microprocessor programmed with smart water technology mounted inside an outdoor located ground mounted enclosure;

b. an air temperature sensor located near ground level within said enclosure in communication with said microprocessor;

c. said microprocessor capable of using data from said sensor to automatically adjust at least one irrigation schedule of said controller.

159. The irrigation system of claim 158 wherein said smart water technology is selected from the group of water budget percentage based, evapotranspiration based, soil moisture based, solar radiation based, relative humidity based, and combinations thereof.

160. The irrigation system of claim 158 further comprising at least one additional environmental sensor selected from the group of precipitation, solar radiation, relative humidity, wind, ground moisture, freeze, and combinations thereof.

161. The irrigation system of claim 158 powered by AC, battery, solar, or ambient light.

162. The irrigation system of claim 158 wherein said microprocessor is programmed with the additional capability of automatically implementing at least one governmentally restricted watering schedule provided to said controller.

163. The irrigation system of claim 162 wherein the governmentally restricted watering schedule is selected from the group of:

times of the day, days of the week, days of the month, seasonally, and combinations thereof.

164. A method of automating a water budget feature of an irrigation controller housed inside an outdoor located ground mounted enclosure comprising the steps of:

a. locating an air temperature sensor near ground level within said enclosure;

b. providing said controller with historical geo-environmental data for said location;

c. providing said controller with current environmental data from said sensor;

d. said controller periodically comparing said historical geo-environmental data to said current sensor data to determine a water budget percentage; and

e. automating said water budget feature of said controller with said determined water budget percentage.

165. The method of claim 164 comprising the additional step of providing at least one additional sensor selected from the group of temperature, precipitation, solar radiation, relative humidity, wind, freeze, and combinations thereof within or upon said enclosure.

166. The method of claim 164 comprising the additional step of adjusting said irrigation schedule according to one of the group of:

station run time, starting time, watering day, and interval of days.

167. The method of claim 164 comprising the additional step of adjusting the irrigation schedule daily.

168. The method of claim 164 comprising the additional steps of:

a. setting a water budget percentage threshold

b. accumulating water budget percentages until said threshold is reached; and

c. allowing irrigation to occur when said accumulated percentages exceed said threshold.

169. A method of automating the water budget feature of an irrigation controller housed in an outdoor located ground mounted enclosure at a location comprising the steps of:

a. providing a separate module within said enclosure with an input port;

b. providing an air temperature sensor near ground level within said enclosure to provide current air temperature data to said module through said input port;

c. programming said module with historical geo-environmental data for said location;

d. said module determining a water budget percentage by comparing said historical geo-environmental data to said current temperature data;

e. communicating said determined water budget percentage to said controller; and

f. said controller automatically adjusting its water budget feature according to said communicated water budget percentage from said separate module.

170. The method of claim 169 comprising the additional steps of providing said module with at least one governmentally restricted watering schedule, and said module preventing said controller from irrigating when not allowed according to said schedule.

171. The method of claim 170 wherein said governmentally restricted watering schedule is selected from the group of:

times of the day restrictions, days of the week restrictions, days of the month restrictions, calendar specified seasonal restrictions, and combinations thereof.

172. The method of claim 169 comprising the additional steps of:

a. establishing a water budget threshold;

b. periodically accumulating said percentages until said watering threshold is reached; and

c. said controller preventing irrigation until said threshold is reached.

173. The method of claim 172 comprising the additional steps of providing said controller with at least one restricted watering schedule and allowing irrigation after said threshold is reached according to said watering restrictions.

174. The method of claim 169 comprising the additional steps of providing at least one additional environmental sensor in communication with said module selected from the group of precipitation, solar radiation, relative humidity, wind, freeze, and combinations thereof, and said module adjusting irrigation according to input from said at least one additional sensor.

175. The method of claim 169 comprising the additional step of powering said controller using one of the group of AC, batteries, solar panels, and ambient light.

176. A method of providing environmental data to an irrigation controller with smart water technology for automatically adjusting an irrigation schedule in said controller comprising the steps of:

a. providing said smart irrigation controller inside an outdoor located ground mounted enclosure;

b. providing an air temperature sensor placed near ground level within said enclosure;

c. communicating data from said sensor to said smart controller; and

d. said controller using said sensor data to automatically adjust said irrigation schedule.

177. The method of claim 176 comprising the additional steps of providing at least one non-remotely located additional environmental sensor in communication with said controller, said additional sensor being selected from the group of ambient temperature, precipitation, solar radiation, relative humidity, wind, freeze, and combinations thereof;

and

said controller using data from said additional sensor to adjust said irrigation schedule.

178. The method of claim 176 wherein said smart irrigation technology is selected from the group of evapotranspiration based, water budget percentage based, relative humidity based, solar radiation based, or soil moisture based.

179. The method of claim 176 comprising the additional steps of providing said smart irrigation controller with at least one restricted watering schedule selected from the group of watering times of the day, watering days of the week, watering days of the month, seasonal, and combinations thereof, and said controller preventing irrigation when not allowed according to said at least one restricted watering schedule.

180. An irrigation system comprising:

a. an irrigation controller provided within an outdoor located ground mounted enclosure;

b. a separate module programmed with historical geo-environmental data provided within said enclosure in communication with said controller; and

c. an air temperature sensor located near ground level within said enclosure in communication with said module for providing temperature data to said module.

181. The irrigation system of claim 180 wherein said controller is further programmed with at least one restricted watering schedule.

182. The irrigation system of claim 181 wherein said restricted watering schedule is selected from the group of restricted watering times of the day, days of the week, days of the month, seasonally, and combinations thereof.

183. The irrigation system of claim 180 wherein said controller is powered by one of:

AC, DC, battery, solar, and ambient light.

184. The irrigation system of claim 180 further comprising an irrigation shut down sensor selected from the group of freeze, relative humidity, precipitation, wind, and combinations thereof.