With an exceptionally dry, hot summer raging in many parts of the world, a homeowner in Ontario, Canada decided to get creative with water conservation. Equipping a backyard well with Siemens radar level instruments plus the SITRANS LT500 level controller, the customer’s new home irrigation system saves precious groundwater as well as money.
The cost of water is no laughing matter. A teacher and resident of the City of Kawartha Lakes named Dale Piggot looked for alternatives.
So to decrease his reliance on municipal water and the charges that come from maintaining his backyard gardens, this homeowner began by digging a well to take advantage of the natural water table.
To improve on this manual system and ensure the well did not run dry and that a sufficient amount of water was in the tank to move onto the grounds, the homeowner decided to automate the process.
He first installed two SITRANS LR110 level radar instruments—one in the well and one in storage tank—and then added a SITRANS LT500 level controller to manage pump operation. Using the device’s built-in pushbuttons, the customer set up the controller and had the level system up and running without hassle.
This end user estimates savings of $1,000 per year from being able to closely use and monitor groundwater from the well. That means a return on investment for the cost of the instrumentation in less than two years!
And while the SITRANS LT500 controllers handle everything from basic level control to complex pumping routines, this homeowner without any instrumentation experience was able to connect and commission the system in no time at all.
Proving that creative solutions and automation aren’t confined to industrial applications, this homegrown system delivers cost-savings from the customer’s own backyard.
