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    #31
    I'm about to learn Python. Which Python for Windows do you like to use? I was looking at Python Notebook as a possibility (http://ipython.org/notebook.html), because it has integration with Dygraphs (http://blog.dygraphs.com/2014/09/pyd...odule-for.html), which is the plotting platform I most want to adopt for the long-term.

    Yesterday I received a Raspberry Pi B+. As that's the platform I'll eventually want python to run on, maybe I should just stick to that platform and stay clear of windows entirely. Or does it even matter? I'm guessing python is well abstracted from the hardware, but that's just a guess with nothing to support it.
    Last edited by NeverDie; October 6, 2014, 08:03 PM.

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      #32
      I used ActivePython-2.5.5.7-win32-x86.msi. I put that and other information in the script. (you also need simple json). I had read on this board that was the only version that would work. So that is the only version I tried. And as of a week ago, I had never messed with python. But it is very similar to visual basic I think. I think you will find it easy to learn. I've learned enough in a week to do enough.

      I need to get a raspberry pi. They look interesting. I've messed with an arduino a little. My sprinklers are controlled from a webControl board.

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        #33
        Originally posted by frankc View Post
        I hadn't found that before. I am looking now, but nothing is said other than, "Watering Needs - None". Does it specify how much to water when that becomes necessary?

        Does your script adjust the durations of your zones on a percentage basis?

        And is there some way to mute the people talking?

        Thanks!

        Frank
        Correct, it only shows None, Low, Medium, and High. It is basic, but then I have it use a multiplier of 0, 0.5, 1, and 1.5 to adjust how much watering time my zones get. Not as good as using the sensors and ET calculation, but very simple.
        HS Install Date: Feb. 16, 2007

        HS3 Pro, Z-Wave, Insteon, BLStat, HS Touch Server, MyQ

        WeatherXML, BLBackup, BLLAN, BLLock, Restart, CaddX, OpenSprinkler

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          #34
          Originally posted by frankc View Post
          As you noted, the author takes a "cloud cover" reading every hour from the weather station in the area. And he has applied arbitrary figures for each type of cover noted. Then adds it all together. I am planning to adjust that sum by some factor if it doesn't match actual readings in this area. I am lucky in that a college: K-State here in Kansas, measures and publishes ET and Solar Radiation values every hour. The trouble is that it appears they cannot be scraped or downloaded automatically. However, the figures are obtained just a few miles from here and I plan to compare their results with those of the script.

          Frank
          Another way to do it is to buy the Davis solar radiation sensor (http://www.weathershack.com/products...heet_Rev_D.pdf), which I presume is probably a good one. Runs about $150. It's allegedly possible to read it directly, so you needn't buy into the rest of the Davis station unless you want to.

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            #35
            Sorry but I have to ask, why would you get so technical on this?

            My garden gets dry, I water it, it gets wet, plants grow. I have a bore and the water table is only 3m under my house so I have an unlimited supply of water with only negligible electrical pumping costs.

            If you do want to adjust watering times based on conditions, I'm sure you could greatly simplify the calculations. Hot dry day = + 3 mins, cold damp day = -3 mins, rain = off. Its hardly an exact science.

            I give my garden 10 minutes 3 days a week with a 2 minute spray each other night to keep things wet. I never adjust this and my garden grows quite well.

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              #36
              Not sure to whom your question was directed, but in my case I live in a quasi desert-like area which over the past 5 years has been stricken by worsening drought (approaching "worse than the worst drought of record"). Water rates are tiered, making water for landscaping expensive. Converting to Xeriscaping isn't cheap either, but we're hedging by taking small steps in that direction too. This is the first year I'm trying more intelligent irrigation. So far I'm finding I can save water during the non-peak months. The two hottest months, though, I didn't find much that could be done, as there was almost no rain in July and August. This year those two months had water bills of ~$500 per month. In this context, a $150 sensor is easy to justify, if it's likely to pay for itself.

              If water were cheap, I really doubt I would have geared up for this. However, I've noted the lawn does seem healthier now from watering it only when it needs to be, rather than purely on a timed schedule, as I did previously. For some people, that might be sufficient motivation, and now that I've started I would likely continue even if water rates were to become cheap.
              Last edited by NeverDie; October 7, 2014, 09:04 AM.

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                #37
                $500 bucks a month wow! Now it makes sense why you want to calculate more exact requirements. I figured perhaps you had a few acres of fruit trees or something.

                Water is pretty scarce over here too and we always go 4 months over summer with practically (or sometimes absolutely) no rain but it's still really cheap over here. More like $500 per year. With a bore pump like I have, its basically free.

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                  #38
                  In my case, I am watering a pretty large patch of grass, and water is expensive and getting even more so. I figure with a one time attempt at a software solution, I will be able to very easily and conveniently water the lawn as required.

                  I think in this day and age with water conversation and financial conservation becoming significant issues, the value of water efficiency is becoming more important.

                  Actually, I'm thinking that all sprinkler controllers should be ET controlled. We know that the software is already available that works correctly, what would it cost to implement its use in a small raspberry pi? And it would seem that small investment would end up saving water and money.

                  I also agree that in the middle of this work, it seems as though we're taking a simple task and making it very difficult. I wouldn't want to do this twice!

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                    #39
                    I might be able save a lot of water if I could figure out why my lawn seems to require roughly twice what the local ET measurements indicate it should need. My current theory is that the soil is overly compacted, and so the water is staying too high in the soil, leading to high evaporation losses. I'm going to see if core aeration makes a difference. Excess thatch is probably also a factor, with a similar effect, but it's harder to fix.

                    In this sense, ET may prove to be a very helpful diagnostic tool. However, I won't know for sure until I get to the bottom of it. It's possible the reported ET numbers are skewed low, which is another reason I'd like to do my own ET calc as a cross-check.

                    For sure, something somewhere isn't right.
                    Last edited by NeverDie; October 7, 2014, 10:34 AM.

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                      #40
                      What is your source of local ET figures?

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                        #41
                        Originally posted by NeverDie View Post

                        I have a lux sensor with high dynamic range on order from Adafruit (http://www.adafruit.com/products/1980). It should arrive this week. It's inexpensive at around $7, but I'm hoping it will correlate well enough to solar irradiance, even though it doesn't have the crystal hemisphere over it like a proper scientific instrument would. I should think that a solar panel would also be a good way to measure irradiance, as that is what powers it--although again it would be missing a hemisphere.

                        .
                        Is the lux sensor's output such that something like a raspberry pi is required to make sense of it? I was thinking of a solar panel as well. Even one of the small types used for a landscape light. Or would they be too non-linear or perhaps saturate too quickly? And in any event would a sensor have to follow the sun's inclination throughout the year to provide a consistent and relative output?

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                          #42
                          Originally posted by frankc View Post
                          What is your source of local ET figures?
                          http://texaset.tamu.edu/date.php?stn=48&spread=7

                          and

                          http://www.realgreenlawns.com/austin...in_weather.htm

                          Also, rather than being level, my lawn is on a slope. I'm not seeing runoff when I irrigate, but maybe the slope is somehow a factor.

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                            #43
                            Originally posted by frankc View Post
                            Is the lux sensor's output such that something like a raspberry pi is required to make sense of it? I was thinking of a solar panel as well. Even one of the small types used for a landscape light. Or would they be too non-linear or perhaps saturate too quickly? And in any event would a sensor have to follow the sun's inclination throughout the year to provide a consistent and relative output?
                            I get the impression that a pyranometer is the preferred type of sensor ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyranometer). I don't know how well different sensors would approximate that.
                            Last edited by NeverDie; October 8, 2014, 07:00 AM.

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                              #44
                              Originally posted by NeverDie View Post
                              Also, rather than being level, my lawn is on a slope. I'm not seeing runoff when I irrigate, but maybe the slope is somehow a factor.
                              wow... grass looks great, but how in the world would you figure the ET for that? If the angle of the sun is an issue in figuring the solar radiation, what happens when the land is angled away from or toward the sun. Seems like there would be an effect. But the run off would seem to be a bigger issue. What if you watered twice a day to give the smaller amount of water to remain on the lawn / in the soil?

                              I am still working on the formulas within the script. I went through half of it yesterday. I am thinking of modifying the script to figure solar radiation on an hourly basis rather than daily. The ETs it derives seem to be a little high the way it is.

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                                #45
                                Great sources of ET and radiation!

                                It would be interesting to run the Python script using the coordinates of those locations to check how well the ET matches. I'll give that a shot.

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