by Brianna Crandall — March 9, 2020 — Landscape contractors, maintenance crews and property managers for commercial irrigation sites are facing more challenges than ever before, from water restrictions and liability concerns to labor shortages and budgetary constraints. Global irrigation products and services provider Rain Bird’s new IQ4 Central Control Platform software can help them tackle those challenges by providing full remote irrigation system access and numerous advanced water management features from any web-based device.
IQ4 takes water management to the next level with full remote access, a modern user interface, streamlined navigation and permission-based, tiered-user access. Image courtesy Rain Bird. Click to enlarge.
Rick Malkin, central controls product manager for Rain Bird, stated:
For years, our IQ Platform has been an ideal water management solution for HOAs, schools, parks and other sites that require flow sensing, have more than 22 stations, or require comprehensive water management across one or more controllers. Now with IQ4, we’re taking water management to the next level with full remote access, a modern user interface, streamlined navigation and permission-based, tiered-user access.
Available in English, Spanish, French, German, Italian and Portuguese language versions, IQ4 can manage small, single-controller sites as well as large multi-controller sites.
The platform currently consists of two options: IQ4-Cloud and IQ4-Desktop. Each provides remote programming, management and monitoring of Rain Bird’s ESP-LX Series Controllers (the ESP-LXME and ESP-LXMEF traditionally wired controllers, the ESP-LXD two-wire decoder controller and the soon-to-be-introduced ESP LX-IVM and ESP LX-IVM Pro controllers) from a desktop computer.
IQ4-Cloud also provides a web-based service that allows users to log in and control their irrigation systems from any internet-connected smartphone or tablet touchscreen. It can be an ideal solution for organizations with multiple irrigation system administrators or users who are often off site.
IQ4-Desktop may be installed and operated on a single desktop computer, making it a good solution for sites with a single administrator who wants to control the irrigation system from his or her office. This software package provides five-satellite capacity, but users have the option to expand in five-satellite increments.
Both IQ4 versions offer administrative and water management features that can help irrigation managers save time and money, including detailed logs and reports, automated email alarm/warning and satellite station runtime reports, satellite two-way programming, auto data synchronization from IQ4 to the satellite, and ET station runtime adjustments by site.
Minute-by-minute flow logs are available for those satellite controllers equipped with flow sensors, as well as graphical reports demonstrating actual flow vs. projected flow.
Malkin continued:
Rain Bird is dedicated to providing the best, most flexible irrigation control options available in the industry today. With IQ4, users can truly “take control” of their irrigation systems. It’s another way we’re helping our customers maintain healthier landscapes with less water.
For more information about Rain Bird’s new IQ4 Central Control Platform, or to learn more about the company’s extensive line of residential and commercial irrigation control solutions, visit the Rain Bird website. The Azusa, CA-based manufacturer offers a broad range of irrigation products for farms, golf courses, sports arenas, commercial developments and homes in more than 130 countries around the globe.
