Summer has arrived early here in Texas. My yard is starting to show the signs of the heat and typically under the old controller my grass would be nice and green still.
So, I have been playing with the daily flex schedule and monthly flex schedule. When recreating a new daily flex schedule I get a total run time of 5hrs 2 min while monthly flex gives me a total run time of 3hrs and 33min.
I would have thought the daily run time would have been the shorter than the monthly.
Thanks for asking. While they are both flexible schedules, one is based on thirty year average temperatures (flexible monthly), and one is based on real time temperatures and precipitation (flexible daily). Flexible monthly schedules are very predictable. You can actually go to the calendar view and see the frequency of watering change as you move month-to-month. This is the schedule that will be followed throughout the year (unless you adjust your zone characteristics).
Flexible daily schedules adjust immediately to warmer and cooler temperatures. Overall my bet is that you will see more efficiencies (especially during cooler times or precipitation events) than flexible monthly, but they are largely dynamic and unpredictable (they are also a little harder to dial in if you want to adjust the frequency). If you have an abnormally warm summer it will want to adjust and water more. I always tell customers if they want to use flexible daily to start with one zone, get it dialed in, and then if it fits your needs apply it to the other zones. Some customers like using flexible monthly since it’s more predictable and a little easier to configure.
Hope this helps.
Here is a little more information on the two types.
