How Orbit Is Leveraging Technology to Help Homeowners Save Water and Reduce Waste

Water. It’s essential to all life, and yet we often take it for granted. It is easy to forget that water is actually a finite resource. We tend to use it freely and without regard to where it is going and where it will end up. However, water waste is actually a major problem across the world.

These issues begin right here at home. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the average American family uses about 320 gallons of water every single day.About one-third of that water is used outdoors, primarily for lawn care. This equates to roughly nine billion gallons of water being used on American lawns each day.

Unfortunately, not all of the water used to irrigate lawns is actually being used as intended. Water may be lost due to many factors, including evaporation (especially in hotter environments), wind and runoff. As widespread as these problems are, many could be fixed with more efficient irrigation methods.

This is where companies such as Orbit come in. Orbit provides solutions that use advanced smart technology to give your lawn exactly what it needs. A leader in the field of water conservation since the 1970s, Orbit has introduced many technological advances designed to improve household water use — and it continues to pave the way today in making lawn care easier for homeowners and the planet.

Few things demonstrate this better than the company’s B-hyve brand, a series of smart home watering timers. The B-hyve system knows exactly what your lawn needs because it monitors local weather patterns and predictions using WeatherSense technology. B-hyve adapts to changes in the weather, such as rain or an increase in humidity, by adjusting the duration and amount of water used to water your lawn.

“As I’ve travelled, I have noticed sprinkler and irrigation systems located in the most unusual places. I often see systems spraying water at random places, pointed away from any plants. Many times, they are left to run, even though it has just rained that day. This kind of wasteful and uneven watering is easily prevented with Orbit’s conservation technologies,” says Stuart Eyring, CEO of Orbit. “This system takes the guesswork out of lawn care. It’s easier than ever to have a healthy and ecologically-friendly lawn, no matter where you live.”

Adaptability to local conditions is a key part of what allows the B-hyve watering system to make the greatest impact for reducing water waste. Most American lawns get watered at least once a day. However, most grasses do not need to be watered every day to survive, and such methods can actually lead to over-watering that wastes water and harms grass. B-hyve is designed to counter these wasteful practices.

“Often, irrigation systems tend to follow a one-size-fits-all approach,” Eyring explains. “However, the climate and soil in Arizona is not the same as the climate and soil in Washington. Lawns in these distinct areas will need different watering procedures. The types of plants in your yard or garden and the topography of your property will also play a huge role in the type of irrigation your lawn and garden need. Orbit’s B-hyve timers take all of these factors into consideration to allocate the perfect amount of water regardless of location, climate, plant type or topography.”

B-hyve timers allow homeowners to easily control their irrigation system from their home or a  mobile device. Because B-hyve can be monitored and controlled via smartphone, you can manage your lawn’s water needs from anywhere — be it work, your child’s soccer game or even a vacation to the Bahamas.

To date, B-hyve has provided smart-watering solutions in 40 countries on six continents. As Eyring notes, “Already, Orbit has helped people around the world in an effort to conserve as much water as possible. Through these efforts, we have already saved over 30 billion gallons of water with our B-hyve smart timers.”

Those savings make a difference — and not just for consumers’ water utility bills. As climate conditions become increasingly dramatic across the globe and saving water becomes imperative, impactful solutions from technological leaders such as Orbit will become even more vital. Reducing water waste is key to ensuring that homeowners can continue to enjoy their property while minimizing their impact on the environment. With B-hyve, you can conserve water and maintain a luscious lawn and garden, too.