Built by an Engineer,
for Homeowners.
A 12-year passion project turned product — because nobody should have to fight their sprinkler controller.
The engineer behind the controller.
I'm an electrical engineer who spent years designing and programming control systems — often with PLC equipment. I'm also a very experienced software engineer. So when I got frustrated with my home irrigation setup, I didn't go shopping for a better controller. I started designing one.
PLCs are expensive and overkill for a residential yard, so I took a different route. A much more interesting one.
2013 — The spark.
That year I discovered the Raspberry Pi single-board computer and it was exactly the spark I needed. At the time I had two name-brand, big-box 6-zone controllers — the kind with buttons, a dial, and a tiny display — and they frustrated me to no end.
I needed 10 zones because my water pressure wasn't great and I had split some zones to compensate. The controllers worked fine, but any time I wanted to adjust the schedule for seasonal changes or a dry spell, I had to carefully make sure the last zone of the first controller didn't overlap the first zone of the second. Buying a more expensive controller with more zones didn't appeal to me — so I designed, hand-wired, and programmed the first prototype of SprinkleSmarter instead. It worked well for many years.
2016 — The forever home.
We built our forever home on 2+ acres and when I laid out the irrigation system I quickly realized that my 10-zone controller was not going to be enough. I purchased enough components for 20 zones and hand-wired what became prototype two. The software adapted well, and with my programming skills having evolved I was able to put a new face on it. I installed it and it worked perfectly for many years.
Until one of the components failed. I started troubleshooting — remember, I'm an engineer and we can fix anything — but the tangle of wires and soldered joints were not conducive to success. That's when I decided to look for off-the-shelf components, which until recently were much harder to find. Thanks, Amazon.
2025 — Off the shelf.
I found single-board optically isolated relay boards on Amazon and discovered they work surprisingly well. I definitely didn't waste time making it look nice, but the setup worked very well. I added more features to the software and began a proper TODO list of enhancements.
By this point I had been using the system year in and year out for 12 years and knew exactly what worked and what didn't. That experience shaped everything.
2026 — Why not?
It occurred to me that maybe someone else out there has the same need: a sprinkler controller that supports up to 20 zones, doesn't charge subscription fees, and is an easy drop-in replacement for an aging system. So I decided to commercialize the software, put the hardware in a proper weatherproof cabinet, and start a business.
That was never my original intention back in 2013 — or really at any point since then — but here we are. If you'd like to know more, you're in the right place. Fill out the form below and I'll do my best to help.
Questions?
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