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Make your sprinkler system smarter, thereby saving water bills.

Jason Cipriani lives in beautiful Colorado and has been covering mobile technology news and reviewing the latest gadgets for the past six years. His work can also be found in the How To section of the sister website CNET and more online publications.

The early stages of technology companies trying to connect every device in our home to the Internet and converting "stupid" items into smart home products have passed. Although you may not want a connected microwave oven, one item you should seriously consider is Intelligent sprinkler system controller. 

By connecting your sprinkler system to the Internet, not only can you create a schedule or turn it on/off directly from your phone, but some systems will automatically create a watering schedule based on your climate, weather forecast and which parts of the yard during the day More or less shade. 

Below we have compiled four different sprinkler controllers, each with a unique method to simplify keeping the yard or garden lush green. 

Region: 8 or 16 | Smart home support: Apple HomeKit, Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, IFTTT, Wink, Control4 and Nexia | Outdoor cabinet: Amazon $30 | Supported weather services: National Weather Station, 270,000 personal weather stations, etc. Weather Intelligence Plus service for Rachio|

Rachio's sprinkler controllers are arguably the most popular, or at least the most recommended, and for good reason. They are easy to set up and install (like most sprinkler controllers), and they also provide extensive support for smart home platforms and use multiple weather sources to provide the company's own Weather Intelligence Plus service. 

The service will actively adjust your watering schedule once a month, and if there is any severe weather forecast, it will also skip the watering day to accommodate the precipitation. Again, all of these are the main functions of a smart sprinkler system, but Rachio's technology seems to be the smartest and most consistent. 

In addition: Rachio 3 Smart Sprinkler hands-on: smart watering controlled by mobile phone

Area: 8, 12, 16 | Smart home support: Apple HomeKit, Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, IFTTT, Samsung SmartThings, Home Assistant | Outdoor cabinet: Amazon $35 | Supported weather services: NOAA, NetAtmo, Wunderground, OpenWeatherMap + more More |

The Rainmachine series of smart sprinkler systems look unique because all three models are equipped with touch screens and digital displays. Mini-8 is the most basic in this group and lacks HomeKit support. Pro and Touch HD have larger displays and touch areas, and Touch HD has a 6.5-inch display. All three models support automatic adjustment of your water cycle based on local weather reports. 

Mini-8 supports up to 8 areas, Pro provides 8 or 16 areas, Touch HD supports 12 or 16 areas. All three models support antifreeze and heat wave protection, and support main valve automation. 

One unanimous complaint in the reviews I have read about Rainmachine is that although it supports multiple weather services to deal with rain delays, its forecasts and watering schedules are not as accurate as its competitors. 

Zone: 8 | Smart Home Support: Wyze App | Outdoor Cabinet: $30.99 | Supported Weather Service: Sprinkler Plus Weather Service by Wyze |

Wyze produces a series of reasonably priced equipment, so it makes sense for the company to develop a minimal and inexpensive smart sprinkler system controller. The oval black design is simple and allows you to remotely control up to 8 different spray zones. 

For the asking price, you can get the company's Sprinkler Plus Weather Service for one year, which usually costs $9.99 per year. One disadvantage of the Wyze product is that it currently does not support any smart home services other than the Wyze app. Therefore, although you can still control the sprinkler from your phone, you will not be able to ask Alexa or Google Assistant to make any adjustments. 

Area: Single | Smart Home Support: HomeKit | Outdoor Housing: Designed for Outdoor Use | Supported Weather Service: Manually turn on/off the rain delay through the Eve app or Apple Shortcuts |

If you use hoses and more traditional sprinklers to water your yard, then Eve's Aqua is a reliable choice. You connect it to an outdoor faucet, and then connect the hose to Aqua. 

Eve added Thread support to Aqua, and as Thread continues to roll out and gain traction in the market, allowing future integration with other smart home platforms. However, for now, you need to use iPhone and HomeKit to control it. 

You can use the Eve app to turn Aqua on/off as needed, or set a schedule for when to turn on and allow water to flow. The Eve app will even calculate the amount of water flowing through the adapter, allowing you to better estimate the cost of keeping your yard or garden watered. 

Mostly right. You need to access the current controller of the sprinkler system. There should be a series of wires connected to the controller, each of which controls a valve to open or close the water in the watering zone. 

Each controller included in this list (except Eve Aqua) is equipped with a power adapter that can be plugged into a standard wall outlet. In other words, it is powered just like any other gadget or device in your home.

Anything connected to the Internet can be hacked, and smart sprinkler controllers are no exception. As with any type of online account you have, it is best to choose a random and unique password — and use a password manager to remember it for you — to improve the security of your account. 

Over the years, I have personally used several different controllers. Recently, I installed and ran Rachio 3. Based on my personal experience with smart sprinkler controllers, and reading countless reviews from technology journalists and consumers, eventually led to the devices on this list. 

When making a decision, you should consider several aspects of a smart sprinkler controller. The first is your budget. Wyze's products are the most affordable, but they also require an annual subscription (although it only costs $10 per year, it is still a recurring fee). More expensive controllers such as Rachio and Rainmachine use several different services to adjust the weather and watering, which is part of the reason why they are more expensive. 

As far as Rainmachine is concerned, its design and touch screen integration also play an important role in its cost. 

Another factor to consider is the smart home platform you currently use, and may even plan to use it. Rainmachine and Rachio support almost all platforms, while Wyze and Eve Aqua provide limited solutions. 

The number of support areas needs to be considered, but to a lesser extent only because most sprinkler controllers start with a minimum of eight support areas.

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