Smart Water Irrigation System - With Solar Panel

A solar smart water timer: the same tap timer, supplied with a solar panel on a stake.

• Why a solar smart water timer exists
• Everything else works the same
• Where to put the panel
• A question we will not guess at
• Panel, or a plug

Why a solar smart water timer exists

That is the whole reason this version exists. A solar smart water timer solves the problem that stops most people fitting a tap timer at all.

The timer itself has no battery compartment. It runs on 5V through a socket on its side, and in this version the panel on a stake feeds that socket instead of a USB adapter running from the house. Set the panel where it gets direct sun for part of the day and the timer looks after itself.

Everything else works the same

It screws onto a standard 3/4 inch tap with the hose on the other end. It joins your Wi-Fi directly with no gateway, and runs from the Tuya or Smart Life app.

Schedules, durations, countdowns, a rain skip that reads the local forecast, and a button on the face for a manual soak without a phone. It works between 100 and 800 kPa and passes 500 to 1700 litres an hour, covering drip lines, soaker hose and an ordinary garden hose.

Where to put the panel

The panel is on a stake, so it goes into the ground rather than being mounted. It needs direct sun for part of the day, which in Dar is not the constraint it would be elsewhere.

What does catch people out is planting it under the very tree it is meant to water, or behind a wall that shades it after ten in the morning. Walk the spot at two different times of day before you push the stake in.

A question we will not guess at

We cannot confirm from the manufacturer how the timer behaves after dark or through several overcast days, and we are not going to invent a runtime figure for it.

Ask us before ordering and we will check against the unit in stock. It matters if your watering schedule runs at five in the morning rather than at midday, and it is the kind of thing better established before delivery than after.

Panel, or a plug

Take this version when the tap is nowhere near a socket, which outside is most taps. The manufacturer rates the body IP67.

If your tap does have a socket beside it, the plain version is cheaper and comes with a 190cm USB lead, and there is no reason to pay for a panel you will not need. One outlet per timer either way, so two zones needs two timers. The Smart Life app is documented at tuya.com.