Bring Intelligence to the Yard

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Rachio. All opinions are 100% mine.

Being a techie living in a 30-year-old home has had its challenges over the past few years. Everything from where the phone line comes in (kitchen) to where the thermostat sits (direct sunlight) seems a bit off and out of place for today’s modern conveniences. And sadly, upgrades are limited to heavy investments, trial, and error, or just plain luck when it comes to figuring it all out. On the other side of the techie, challenges have been the yard. Living in Colorado provides some very interesting challenges when it comes to keeping the yard beautiful without breaking the budget. Between the heat, the heat, and the heat, all mixed with seemingly random rainy times, my yard has been at the mercy of a simple timer that I would adjust manually based on the weather forecast. But that all ended this last month with the brand new Rachio 3, a smart device that does exactly what I was doing manually but much better.

This brand new smart sprinkler controller is just what I was looking for when it comes to an intelligent upgrade and improvement to my yard. Connected to the web, it can pull in specific weather data for my address, plan out an ever-changing watering schedule based on the randomness of the rain and heat, and give me all the data I need to make smart adjustments. No more guessing. Do you know how amazing that is? Arriving in a simple box, this non-descript white control unit comes with some of the simplest instructions I have seen. I started out by taking a photo of my current zone setup and removing the old control. Mounting the new Rachio 3 was a breeze, and I had the zone wires back in their right spot in less than 5 minutes total.

Plugged in, the Rachio 3 has a blue light across the middle and nothing more. The main controlling is done from the Rachio app on the phone, which quickly found the device and let me connect it to the WiFi for our smart devices. Yes, our smart devices in the home all run on a separate network from our computers, but that’s another story. Running through the app was a breeze with tests of each zone, controls letting me pick everything from the vegetation type to slope of the yard. 10 minutes after opening the box, my full yard was set up and under the control of the Rachio 3. That’s it – 10 minutes from start to finish. Management of my yard has been beyond a breeze. I get notifications the evening before the sprinkler runs with its nightly plan, as well as a report afterward. I can open the Rachio app and make adjustments, like when I wanted to increase the watering of the vegetable garden a bit, and everything is done in a snap. And if I want to start the sprinkler for a manual run, my options range from direct control on the Rachio box, asking my Alexa to start sprinkler, or opening the app.  This is exactly what I have been looking for all these years.

And how does my yard look? Amazing. To be honest, it’s never looked this good and I could not be happier with the improvements and health of my yard. It’s even helped fix dead grass areas that have been the bane of my stress all these years. And all without excess water waste. While another tech seems to be the luck of the draw when it comes to the upgrading, the Rachio 3 hit the mark right out of the box, delivering exactly what it promised and bringing a better sense of control and understanding to my yard. And for a techie, that’s a smarter way to water your lawn.

If you’re looking to take control of your yard, manage the water with smarter technology, check out the Rachio 3 sprinkler control. It will be one smart investment.

Sprinkler Controller