Rain Sensors

Since 2006, rain sensors have been required on all in-ground sprinkler systems in San Antonio. Rain sensors are designed to turn off your sprinkler system after an adequate amount of rainfall has been received.

Aside from being required rain sensors are a great idea for many reasons, they let your sprinklers run only when it's needed which conserves water and saves you a lot of money.  We see sprinkler systems running in the rain or shortly afterward all the time.  In many cases there is in fact a rain sensor installed however it is either faulty or the “rain senor bypass switch” has been set to bypass. 

Another free pro-tip: To test your rain sensor for proper operation push the button on the top of the sensor while the sprinkler system is running.  Shortly afterwards the sprinklers should stop running.  If you can’t find the button or your sensor doesn’t have one, then you can always pour a glass of water over it.  Keep in mind, with this technique your system will not run until it has dried out so make sure you do this a few days prior to your next scheduled run time. 

If SAWS customers do not have a rain sensor and a complaint is made that your system is running during the rain or shortly afterward, they will receive one warning before being issued a water waster ticket. 

 

If you do not have a rain sensor installed or yours has malfunctioned then give us a call, they are surprisingly affordable, and we can install a new one in under an hour.  We recommend the wireless Rainbird Rain/Freeze Combo with 48-Hour Automatic Hold.  It has an easy to read LCD with rainfall adjustment settings on the panel therefore if your sensor needs to be mounted on the roofline adjustments can be made next to the controller as opposed to requiring a ladder.