What does Seasonal Adjust % mean on my sprinkler controller?

What does Seasonal Adjust % mean on my sprinkler controller?

There is a feature on just about every irrigation controller that makes controlling the run times a lot easier. Unfortunately, most people with irrigation systems don’t realize the feature exists, and it’s probably the easiest way to operate your controller with just the push of a button. This feature is called seasonal adjust or on some older controllers is it called water budget.

Seasonal adjustment is a feature on most irrigation controllers that reduces or increases run times for all zones based on a percentage of the programmed time.

There are two schools of thought on seasonal adjustment. Some contractors set the 100% marker for how many minutes they want in peak heat of the summer in June/July and adjust the percentage up or down from there. For example, if July is our peak you would then adjust the controller by percentage on average by month: April 54%, May 74%, June 96%, July 100%, August 88%, September 67% and October 43%.

Although I understand the logic of doing it this way, it also requires you to make adjustments on a monthly basis, so we only use Seasonal Adjust to go above our standard spring settings. 

That being said, if you have a Jensen Sprinkler system, the majority of the time your seasonal adjustment should be set at 100%. If it is set for LESS than 100 it will run for less time than you have scheduled. For example: 10 minute run time at 50% would instead run 5 minutes. As we reach our peak need for water in July and August, bump that seasonal adjust up. The Rain Bird ESP-Me can be seasonally adjusted up to 200% of the scheduled run time. We do recommend you try small increments and see how your lawn responds, perhaps starting at 110-125% for a week or two then 125-150%. I don't think we have ever adjusted a sprinkler up to the maximum percentage. 

Changing the percentage is very simple.
1) Turn the dial over to SEASONAL ADJUST %, 
2) Press the - or + to increase or decrease the global percentage setting. 
3) If you have more than one program scheduled, you will need to press the PROGRAM SELECT and change the percentage on each program.
4) Return the dial to AUTO/RUN

IMPORTANT NOTE: Set your self a reminder to turn seasonal adjust down when the weather changes. Typically in the Siouxland area you can bump that back out around Labor Day. 

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