Irrigreen Smart Sprinkler System 3 Review

About the Irrigreen Smart Sprinkler System 3

• Water pressure: 40 to 80 PSI
• Minimum flow: 8 gallons per minute (GPM)
• Spray distance: 5 to 30 feet
• Rotation: 360 degrees

The Irrigreen Smart Sprinkler System 3 comes in two slightly different models. There's a Standard model that can water your lawn with an accuracy of 12 inches, and a "HydroBoost" model that gets that down to six inches. The Standard system with one controller and one sprinkler head costs $1,999, while the HydroBoost costs $2,089, only $90 more. From there, you'll pay extra for multiple sprinkler heads.

What we like

Water efficiency and precision mapping are its selling points

The real selling point of the Irrigreen Smart Sprinkler System 3 is the level of control you get over where you water. Most sprinkler heads these days let you control the spray radius and the spray angle (so, if you have a sprinkler head in the corner of a square lawn, you can set it to water only a 90-degree area so it doesn't spray outside the lawn). But with those systems, there's crossover in where water is sprayed, and if there's any irregularity to the shape you want watered, you're either going to water outside your lawn, or sacrifice watering only some of the lawn.

I reconfigured my sprinkler system myself last year and ended up installing five sprinkler heads over two zones—perhaps slightly more than I needed for my lawn, but it gave me control over where water would be sprayed without having to dig more trenching than I was already digging. But with the Irrigreen Smart Sprinkler System 3, I probably would have only needed one well-placed sprinkler head, and when I think back to the back-breaking work of digging trenches for piping, that's a pretty appealing concept.

The way you get precision is through the app, which lets you set up watering "zones." Basically, you set points in your yard where the system should water. You could set it to water the corner of your lawn, then lower the throw distance to go around the edges of a pathway, for example. The one feature I would have liked to see is the ability to create multiple zones for a single sprinkler head—what if you want different areas on different schedules? That, of course, is a bit of a niche use case.

It can cut down on your piping and trenches

As mentioned, I recently dug the trenches and installed the piping for a sprinkler system, and it was a lot of work. It was perhaps more work because I did it all myself rather than hiring help, but it would have been much less work with the Smart Sprinkler System 3. I could have only dug a trench to the perfect spot for the sprinkler head to reach everywhere I wanted to water.

It supports sprinkler and drip irrigation

Irrigreen isn't just about the sprinkler heads. While the Smart Sprinkler Head 3 handles your typical spray zones, the ecosystem also includes a smart valve that can manage drip irrigation lines and other watering methods. So, you can run your whole irrigation setup—sprinkler zones for the lawn, drip lines for garden beds, shrubs, planters—from one controller and one app. It's a thoughtful addition that makes the system more flexible than you might initially expect, especially if your property goes beyond just turf and has varied landscaping.

App (mostly) works well

For the most part, the app is easy to navigate, allows you to create zones and schedule watering easily, and looks relatively modern. It supports features like "auto watering," which uses weather data combined with knowledge of your lawn and soil type to water when it thinks it is the right time. That's pretty cool.

But it's not perfect, and its issues were slightly frustrating. When I first installed the system, I was told the sprinkler head had a firmware update available, but it allowed me to simply dismiss that message, which I did so that I could continue setting up and install the update later. I couldn't, but the app didn't tell me that—I simply wasn't able to configure my setup, without any knowledge of why (it was only later that I realized it was because of the update).

I also would have liked clearer notices when there were other issues. I didn't re-trench my whole yard for this review—Irrigreen sent out a reviewer's kit that comes with a slightly tweaked sprinkler head and the controller, along with some piping to connect the sprinkler head to a typical outdoor faucet. After installing the sprinkler head at the end of my hose, I calibrated it, which the app said went fine. Later, I realized there was a tiny "Flow Error" notice, and clicking on that told me the water pressure wasn't high enough—something I fixed by connecting the head directly to the water faucet instead of the hose.

These are minor issues, and, again, to be fair, the app is relatively well-designed. Once I got past the initial setup, I had no issues with it.

What we don't like

Installation can be complicated

Most sprinkler systems are interoperable. That's to say, when I did my installation last year, I didn't need to redo everything. The basics were already in place: I could swap the old controller for a new one using the existing wiring, and I could use the piping already installed and connected to the water mains, so I only had to configure the piping from the valve in the backyard to the new sprinkler heads. With Irrigreen, you can't do that. That's largely because the sprinkler heads have to be connected to the controller with Irrigreen's wiring—so you'll need to run wiring alongside any piping.

In other words, it's probably easier to install an Irrigreen system than a traditional one if you're starting from scratch. But if not, you're going to need to re-trench your system to lay the wiring, even if you already have piping down, or be comfortable with the wiring living above ground, only going under near the sprinkler head, which is bound to end badly. And the controller needs Wi-Fi connectivity.

It's also worth noting that Irrigreen requires a consistent water pressure of 40 to 80 PSI and a flow rate of at least 8 gallons per minute. That's not out of the ordinary, but if you don't hit those requirements, the system won't work properly, whereas a traditional system might.

It doesn't work with all smart homes

If you're looking for a smart sprinkler system that integrates with the rest of your smart home, the Irrigreen Sprinkler System 3 may not be for you unless you use Alexa. It doesn't support Google Home, Apple HomeKit, or other ecosystems.

That's unlike many simple controllers that do support HomeKit and Google Home. I have a Yardian Pro smart sprinkler controller that works with HomeKit just fine. Sure, it doesn't have super integrated features, but at least it can still be controlled through HomeKit.

Its high price

There's no way around how high the price of the Irrigreen Smart Sprinkler System 3 is. You'll be paying at least $2,000 for a system with only one sprinkler head. Traditional sprinkler systems simply don't cost that much.

Irrigreen would argue that you'll recoup that money through water savings, which may be true, but it will take a while to do so, and even then, it doesn't take away the sting from the initial payment.

Warranty

Irrigreen sprinkler heads, controllers, cables, and other components come with a 2-year warranty. You can also opt for an additional 3-year extended warranty for extra coverage at an added cost.

Should you buy the Irrigreen Smart Sprinkler System 3?

Yes, if you're confident that it will work with your setup

What the Irrigreen Smart Sprinkler System 3 (available at Irrigreen) sets out to do, it does well. It delivers water with a level of precision that traditional sprinkler systems just can't match, while cutting down on water usage in the process. If you have an oddly shaped lawn or are simply done watching your sprinklers soak the sidewalk, this system makes a strong argument for itself.

That said, the system makes the most sense for homeowners starting from scratch, whether it's a new build, a major landscaping overhaul, or a property where the existing system is already on its last legs. If you've got a working traditional setup and just want to bolt on some smart features, a controller-only option like Rachio gets you most of the scheduling and weather intelligence at a fraction of the installation effort. Irrigreen requires commitment—wiring, trenching, a full hardware ecosystem, and a comfort level with moderate installation complexity.

If you go in with clear-eyed expectations about what installation entails, understand that the HydroBoost upgrade is worth the money for reliable performance, and can deal with Alexa-only smart-home support for now, the Irrigreen Smart Sprinkler System 3 is one of the most water-efficient residential irrigation systems you can buy.