You can also see from the schematic above that the common wire from the sprinkler valves is connected to one side of the AC power supply. You can build your own converter, but I decided to use this prebuilt one to convert the 24V AC power supply to 5V DC for the ESP8266. It’s dead simple to use, you just connect your AC power source and out comes 5V DC on the other side. However, we need to actually power a microcontroller as well which runs off 5V DC. ![]() AC power is typically used to controller sprinkler valves. And finally, the microcontroller and shift register to control the relays.īelow shows the full schematic for our circuit.Ĭhances are, your sprinkler system runs off of a ~24V AC power supply. The power supply, which is responsible for converting 24V AC to 5V DC to run the microcontroller and relays. There are essentially three main parts of this circuit. When I want to water a zone the relay will close the circuit so that current flows from the power supply and turns on the valve. For my DIY WiFi Sprinkler Controller, I’ll use the ESP8266 to control a relay for each zone. If you’ve done development with relays before, this will sound pretty similar. Below is a great diagram from Sprinkler Warehouse showing how sprinkler controllers are wired. When a zone is active the controller connects the zone wire to the common wire so that current flows from the power supply through the zone wire, energizes the valve so it turns on and then returns through the common wire. Each sprinkler valve is connected with a common wire and the zone-specific wire that both route back to the controller. How sprinklers work is actually pretty simple. I couldn’t justify the price though and ended up deciding to build my own. I was first considering RainMachine because it does not need the cloud to operate, so if RainMachine’s servers are down (or if they go under or get sold) my sprinkler controller would still work. When we moved into our house it came with an older Rain Bird system that runs on 24V AC. While it worked fine, it was time to move the sprinkler system into the 21st century and get a “smart” sprinkler system.Īfter looking around, seems like Rachio and RainMachine both had integrations with Home Assistant (my chosen Home Automation platform) and had good reviews. Most of these can be used on additional projects as well. ![]() Shift register to control additional I/OsĪnd some additional components to package it together and mount it in my garage. Microcontroller used for WiFi communicationĨ Channel relay for controlling sprinkler zones The hardware I used for the project: Item The finished project fits nicely in a dustproof box mounted in my garage: Inexpensive to build, but must be reliable. ![]() Keep the controller simple, keep the scheduling logic on the home automation platform.Be extendable to any number of zones relatively easy.No reliance on the cloud, should work over local network.Control my sprinkler system in an automated fashion, but still turn on individual zones manually when needed.I’ll be going over the software portion in part 2 of the series. The Aqua connects to HomeKit directly via Bluetooth or Thread, which means integrating Siri and the Home app is just a simple HomeKit code scan away.Thinking about getting a smart sprinkler controller for your house? Want completely local control using no cloud services? Today’s article walks through the hardware I used to create my own DIY WiFi sprinkler controller using an ESP8266. Our favorite HomeKit sprinkler controller is the Eve Aqua, thanks to its ability to work with a standard hose spigot, making it a breeze to install. Plus, you can use these smart sprinkler controllers with other HomeKit accessories through automation and scenes, making them one of the most convenient device types you can buy. With just a shout to Siri, you can water your lawn or garden or kick off a fun day outside with the sprinklers. This controller shares the same features as the smaller 8-zone unit, such as weather data and smart scheduling, plus an on-device button that starts watering without digging out your phone.īack to the top ^ Make it rain with the best HomeKit sprinkler controllersĪdding the best HomeKit sprinkler controllers to your home is an excellent way to help you stay on top of your watering needs. Yardian's 12-zone controller for larger lawns is an easy-to-install solution that takes as little as 15 minutes to set up.
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