(Source: Rain Bird)

In honor of Smart Irrigation Month, Rain Bird will be conducting a sweepstakes on its Facebook page, awarding a new Rain Bird® ESP-SMT Smart Control System to a lucky Facebook fan each week during the month of July.

“Smart Irrigation Month is designed to increase public awareness of the need to use water wisely,” said Dave Johnson, Rain Bird’s director of corporate marketing. “It’s about practicing smart water use and helping people become more aware of the irrigation technology that makes it possible. We feel that our ESP-SMT controller truly embodies the concept of intelligent irrigation, and that makes it the perfect reward for our Facebook fans during this very important month.”

Designed for residential and light commercial applications, the Rain Bird® ESP-SMT uses accurate, weather-based control to save between 30-70 percent in water. During installation and set-up, users enter their ZIP code (or site location and elevation), sprinkler type, sun exposure, soil type and slope. The ESP-SMT then combines this information with location-specific monthly historical weather data to create an optimum irrigation schedule. Each day, the system uses temperature and rainfall data to determine how much water is needed to maintain the optimum level of moisture in the soil. The ESP-SMT uses all these factors to decide whether to continue with the current irrigation schedule, suspend irrigation or adjust the schedule to apply more or less water.

To enter Rain Bird’s Smart Irrigation Month Sweepstakes, participants must first “like” the company’s page on Facebook and then complete a brief form with their contact information. Rain Bird will randomly select and notify the winner of a new ESP-SMT each Monday beginning July 11. Weekly winners will be announced on Rain Bird’s Facebook page. The sweepstakes will end with the drawing of its final winner on Monday, August 1, 2011. Official sweepstakes rules are available on Rain Bird’s Facebook page.

“The ESP-SMT Smart Control System is just one example of the technology that is making it easier for all of us to practice smart irrigation,” Johnson said. “It’s easy and quick for contractors to install, and it takes the guesswork out of irrigation scheduling. We hope that by offering all of our Facebook fans—both property owners and irrigation professionals—the opportunity to win an ESP-SMT, we’ll also encourage them to learn more about the latest water-saving technologies and techniques that can help them save water and efficiently manage their landscapes.”

To learn more about how the Rain Bird ESP-SMT Smart Controller saves water and maintains a healthy landscape, visit here. For information about Rain Bird’s many other water-efficient products for landscape, golf course and agricultural irrigation, visit the Rain Bird website.

ABOUT RAIN BIRD

Based in Azusa, Calif., Rain Bird Corporation is the world’s leading manufacturer and provider of irrigation products and services. Since its beginnings in 1933, Rain Bird has offered the industry’s broadest range of irrigation products for farms, golf courses, sports arenas, commercial developments and homes in more than 130 countries around the globe. Rain Bird has been awarded more than 130 patents, including the first in 1935 for the impact sprinkler.  Rain Bird and The Intelligent Use of Water™ are about using water wisely. The company’s commitment to water efficiency extends beyond products to education, training and services for the industry and the community.  Rain Bird maintains state-of-the-art manufacturing assembly facilities in the United States, France, Sweden and Mexico.