Facts and questions

Push notifications are the recommended option—they’re fast and easy. You can also choose email or SMS alerts. SMS alerts require a prepaid SMS balance.

To enable push alerts:

1. Go to My account

2. Scroll to the bottom

3. Tap Register for push notifications

The expected speed setting defines the typical movement speed of the irrigation system.

Options include:

• 0–20 m/h – typical for hose reel irrigators

• 20–40 m/h – moderate movement systems

• Over 40 m/h – faster irrigation equipment

This setting helps the system filter GPS measurements and determine when the machine is moving or stationary. Choosing the correct speed range improves movement detection and standstill alerts.

The irrigation type defines how the system interprets vibration patterns and movement behavior.

Available configurations include:

• Hose Reel

• Center Pivot

• Self-Propelled Irrigation Systems

• Boom

Each irrigation type has unique vibration characteristics and movement patterns. Selecting the correct type allows the sensor to apply the most appropriate detection algorithms.

This parameter defines the distance an alarm is sent from a point of interest or end point.

It helps the system determine when the irrigation system is approaching completion and improves the accuracy of end-of-run notifications.

The sprinkler configuration setting allows the system to understand how water is distributed by the irrigation equipment. Different sprinkler types apply water in different patterns and flow characteristics, which affects how irrigation performance and water application are calculated.

Selecting the correct sprinkler configuration ensures that the system can correctly estimate irrigation coverage, application rate, and water distribution.

Autostart allows the sensor to automatically detect when irrigation begins based on vibration patterns.

When enabled, the sensor monitors vibration levels and automatically switches to irrigation monitoring once stable flow is detected.

This eliminates the need for manual start commands and ensures that irrigation events are recorded automatically.

The vibration sensitivity setting controls how sensitive the sensor is to vibration signals.

For example:

• Standard sensitivity works well for most irrigation systems

• Higher sensitivity may be useful in low-vibration installations

• Lower sensitivity can help avoid noise or false triggers in high-vibration environments

   

Proper sensitivity tuning ensures reliable flow detection while minimizing false alarms.

This parameter determines how long the sensor verifies vibration activity before confirming that irrigation has started.

Typical options include slower or faster detection times depending on the stability of the irrigation system.

Longer confirmation times improve stability and reduce false starts.

Users can switch between two primary operating modes:

Irrigation Mode
Used during irrigation season to monitor water flow, movement, and irrigation performance.

Storage / Environmental Mode
Used during the off-season to monitor environmental conditions such as temperature and humidity inside storage facilities.

This flexibility allows the same device to provide value year-round.

Frost monitoring is designed to alert growers when environmental conditions approach freezing temperatures that may damage crops.

The sensor continuously monitors air temperature and sends an alert when the temperature falls below a predefined threshold. By default, the frost alert is triggered at 0.7 °C, but this value can be adjusted depending on crop type, field conditions, or grower preference.

Early frost alerts allow growers to take preventive action, such as starting frost irrigation, which helps protect crops from frost damage. During frost irrigation, a thin layer of water freezes on the plant surface, releasing latent heat and helping maintain plant temperature near 0 °C, which can prevent harmful freezing within the plant tissue.

By receiving early notifications, growers can respond in time to protect sensitive crops such as fruit trees, vegetables, and berries during cold nights.

For best performance, users should configure the sensor settings according to:

• irrigation system type

• expected machine speed

• sprinkler configuration

• field layout

• environmental conditions

Correct parameter configuration ensures the sensor can accurately interpret irrigation activity and deliver reliable monitoring results.

To ensure accurate monitoring and reliable alerts, the irrigation sensor can be configured using several user-defined parameters. These settings allow the system to adapt to different irrigation systems, field conditions, and operational preferences.

Irrigation systems operate very differently depending on the equipment type, travel speed, and field setup. For example, a hose reel machine moves much slower than a center pivot, and vibration patterns vary depending on hose length, nozzle configuration, and operating pressure.

By adjusting the sensor settings, users help the system understand how the irrigation equipment behaves. This allows the sensor algorithms to correctly interpret vibration signals, movement patterns, and irrigation events.

Correct configuration improves:

• Flow detection accuracy

• Standstill detection

• Water loss detection

• Start and stop detection

• Alarm reliability

• Battery efficiency

In Environmental Mode, the sensor operates as a low-power environmental monitoring device. It measures key storage conditions including temperature, humidity, and atmospheric pressure, helping users maintain a stable environment for stored crops.

To use Environmental Mode, simply switch the sensor from Irrigation Mode to Environmental Mode. The device will then adjust its operating behavior to prioritize environmental monitoring and extended battery life. Measurements are recorded periodically and transmitted through LTE-M or NB-IoT cellular connectivity, allowing users to monitor storage conditions remotely through the platform.

For reliable operation, the storage facility must have adequate cellular IoT coverage. If the signal inside the storage building is weak or unstable, the sensor may use more energy attempting to establish a connection, which can increase battery consumption. Ensuring good network coverage will help maintain both reliable data transmission and optimal battery life.

To give you a full irrigation season plus extra battery life, the sensor stays in a low-power sleep state most of the time. Checking GPS and sending data uses significantly more energy than detecting vibrations, so the device only wakes up periodically to update its location and check for commands from the server.

The sensor has three operation modes:

• Idle: No vibration monitoring and no GPS checks. It connects to the server once per hour and appears as a green Zzz in the portal.

• Pre-watering: The device checks for vibrations every second and samples GPS five times over five minutes. It reports as soon as stable values are confirmed.

• Watering: It listens for vibrations every second and reports immediately on any change. GPS position is checked every 5 minutes and sent to the server.

If the sensor has autostart enabled, it will recognize when to water and begin operations automatically. If autostart is disabled, you must either press the button on the sensor or start it from the portal.

The sensor uses cellular IoT technologies (LTE-M and NB-IoT) specifically designed for low-power, long-lived devices. Unlike traditional 4G, which is optimized for high data rates and continuous connectivity, LTE-M and NB-IoT are engineered for small, infrequent data transmissions with minimal energy consumption.

This allows the sensor to operate for years on a single battery while maintaining secure, direct cloud connectivity—without gateways, local infrastructure, or manual intervention.

LTE-M and NB-IoT provide significantly better coverage than conventional 4G, especially in challenging environments such as underground valve boxes, agricultural fields, remote installations, and areas with weak signal conditions.

Through deeper indoor penetration, lower signal-to-noise requirements, and intelligent network selection, the sensor automatically connects to the strongest available network. This ensures stable data delivery even where smartphones and standard 4G devices struggle to maintain a connection.

• Much lower power consumption → multi-year battery life

• Extended coverage → works in remote and shielded locations

• Optimized for sensors → small data payloads, infrequent updates

• Direct-to-cloud → no gateways, fewer failure points

• Future-proof cellular standard → designed for massive IoT deployments

By using cellular IoT rather than traditional 4G, the system delivers a robust, maintenance-free connectivity solution purpose-built for long-term field deployments.

The SAFT LSH20 is the only battery model officially tested and approved for use in the irrigation sensor.
You can purchase the battery from authorized SAFT distributors online. Searching “SAFT LSH20” will also show other reputable retailers, but be sure they’re trusted suppliers.

List of authorized distributors

The sensor uses a 13 000 mAh battery designed to support up to 6000 hours of watering, which under normal conditions means at least two full irrigation seasons without replacement.

Actual battery life depends on how much the sensor is used and the quality of GPS and network coverage—poor coverage increases power consumption.

Unlike phones, these high-capacity batteries can’t report exact remaining charge. As a general rule:

• If it’s been more than two seasons, consider replacing the battery.

• Unusual behavior such as self-restarts or sleeping during watering can also indicate it’s time for a new battery.

The sensor uses GPS positioning to track irrigation equipment in the field and provide movement-based insights.

GPS data is used to determine:

• current location

• route and movement direction

• speed

• estimated time of arrival

• standstill events

Because irrigation systems often move very slowly, speed calculations are stabilized over multiple GPS points. The system waits until several consecutive position readings confirm movement in the same direction before displaying reliable speed values or generating stop alerts.

Each time the sensor reports its position, the system compares it to the previous position:

• If movement is within approximately 5 meters, the system considers the unit stationary and increases an internal counter.

• If movement exceeds this threshold, the counter is reset.

A stop is only confirmed after several consecutive stationary measurements. This helps prevent false alerts caused by normal GPS uncertainty.

The sensor uses a patented vibration technology to measure the microscopic vibrations generated in a hose or pipe when water is moving through it.

When irrigation is active, water flow creates characteristic vibration patterns in the pipe wall. These vibrations are mechanically transferred to the sensor element, which converts them into an electrical signal.

The signal is digitized and analyzed by the embedded electronics to determine:

• whether irrigation is active

• whether water flow is stable

• whether water loss or pressure loss has occurred

• whether irrigation has stopped

Because the system measures vibration externally, it is:

• Non-intrusive

• Immune to clogging

• Easy to install

• Suitable for long-term field deployment

Water flow is calculated using fluid-dynamics principles combined with real-world calibration data.

Based on the nozzle size and operating pressure, the system applies Torricelli’s law to determine the theoretical flow rate. This calculation is then adjusted using a discharge coefficient, ensuring the result reflects real irrigation conditions rather than ideal laboratory assumptions 

To ensure accuracy across different installations, the calculated values are validated and fine-tuned using calibration curves and tables developed specifically for common irrigation nozzle sizes and pressure ranges. The final result is a reliable volumetric flow rate, expressed in m³/h, that closely matches real-world performance

The application rate describes how much water is delivered to the field during irrigation. It is expressed as millimeters of water applied per hour, representing the irrigation intensity across the crop area.

We use advanced sensing and data analysis to help growers understand and manage irrigation performance with precision. By combining system data, machine movement, and working width, we can accurately determine how much water is being applied to the field in real time.

This approach moves beyond traditional manual calculations. Instead, it provides a data-driven view of irrigation performance, allowing operators and distributors to understand exactly how irrigation systems behave under real operating conditions.