Precise irrigation without great effort: Aiper IrriSense review
For almost every garden.
Precise watering for almost any garden - that's what Aiper promises with the new IrriSense. Our Aiper IrriSense review reveals what the smart and customizable irrigation solution can do and for whom it is suitable.Marcus Schwarten (translated by DeepL / Marcus Schwarten) Published 🇩🇪
Aiper IrriSense conclusion: Precise irrigation with potential
If you want to irrigate an area of up to 445 square meters (or more with several devices) with pinpoint accuracy and without big installation effort, the Aiper IrriSense is an innovative solution. The IrriSense worked well in our practical test. The device is quick and easy to set up and then does its job reliably.
However, there is definitely still room for improvement. We would like Aiper to improve the app in particular and implement more functions and options. Integration in the smart home and a sensor for soil moisture as an addition to the existing weather monitoring would also be great. Especially as the Aiper IrriSense is not a cheap solution.
Pros
Cons
Price and availability
The recommended retail price for the Aiper IrriSense is $699.
If you want to water your garden, you can either place a simple sprinkler on the lawn and reposition it several times if necessary. Or you can install an full irrigation system with circular or square sprinklers. Especially with more complex lawn or garden shapes, this is a time-consuming undertaking in order to water the entire area without spraying areas that do not require or tolerate water.
Aiper, primarily known for its pool robots, has recently launched the IrriSense, a solution that promises precise irrigation of up to 4,800 square feet (445 square meters). A similar solution has been available from Gardena for some time, but it is complex to install and, according to numerous reviews, rather poor in practice.
The Aiper IrriSense aims to improve all of this. In this Aiper IrriSense review, we take a look at wether the smart irrigation solution succeeds in doing this and describe our impressions and test results.
Scope of delivery and assembly: Ready in just a few minutes
The Aiper IrriSense comes with everything you need to get started right away - apart from a garden hose. In addition to the non-return valve and a GHT quick coupling (familiar from Gardena), two quick connectors for hoses with diameters of 13 and 19 mm are also included. This allows a garden hose to be connected directly. The power cable measures a good 10 m.
To set up the Aiper IrriSense, the anchorage must first be pressed into the ground at the desired location in the garden and aligned. The device is then placed on top and fixed into the ground all around with four ground screws. This ensures a stable stand. However, it prevents the IrriSense from being moved spontaneously.
Once the power and water are connected, the 60 cm high Aiper IrriSense can be set up. To do this, the Aiper app for iOS or Android is required. After registering or logging into the Aiper account, the IrriSense must then be added as a new device. The app guides you through the setup process, which worked without any problems in our Aiper IrriSense test.
The connection to the Aiper IrriSense is established in the immediate vicinity via Bluetooth. The Wi-Fi connection can then be set up so that the irrigation can also be controlled remotely via the app. This requires Wi-Fi coverage at the location of the device.
Setup and function: Easier than expected
Once the device has been added to the app, a virtual map of the area to be watered must first be created, optionally with the support of Google Maps after entering the address. For mapping, the water jet is directed over the area to be irrigated using a virtual control pad, which works very sensitively and precisely.
Once the jet is aligned, a fixed point is defined using the "+". This gradually creates a virtual image on the screen by tracing the contour of the lawn or garden area until it is closed.
Once the map has been created, you can start watering after around 10 to 15 minutes of set-up and installation time. The manufacturer promises coverage of up to 445 square meters. The prerequisite for this is that the maximum range of 12 m is reached. According to the manufacturer, the Aiper IrriSense requires a flow rate of 26 l/min and a constant water pressure of 2.0 bar or 45 psi. The manufacturer recommends using a 19 mm thick hose for this. A pressure gauge is integrated into the top of the device.
In our test, we initially tried the Aiper IrriSense with a 13 mm hose, which is actually too thin. As expected, the result was too little pressure. Nevertheless, a range of up to almost 8 m was possible, so that almost 200 square meters could be irrigated.
Even in a second garden and with a 19 mm thick hose, we were unable to really increase the throw distance when testing the Aiper IrriSense. Unfortunately, we were unable to achieve the 12 m promised by the manufacturer due to insufficient water pressure. It is therefore essential to ensure that the manufacturer's specifications regarding water pressure and flow rate are fulfilled before purchase and installation.
App and networking: basic functions available
The Aiper app is the control center for controlling the IrriSense irrigation solution. In addition to the individual start of the irrigation, a schedule can also be set for the days and times when the garden should be watered.
While the hardware leaves a good impression overall, there is still potential in the app. From our point of view, Aiper could put a little more love into this topic. Apart from one or two errors in the German localization, more functions would be possible and desirable. Among other things, the irrigation quantity can only be set in three steps (3, 6 or 13 mm). More options or the choice of your own water quantities would be desirable here.
It is also a pity that it is not possible to change a map that has already been created. Technically, it should be relatively easy to move individually created points again. Instead, a completely new map has to be created every time a change is requested. So there is still room for improvement here, but this should be largely solvable on the software side.
Practical experience: Good, but room for improvement
During operation, the head of the IrriSense rotates 360 degrees around its own axis at a slow speed and then returns in the opposite direction. The small triangle that projects into the water jet atomizes it, so that the area is watered more or less evenly, just like in natural rain. Towards the end, the IrriSense also reduces the throw distance to water the area around the device. Once the set irrigation quantity has been reached, the work is stopped.
The Aiper IrriSense impressed with the accuracy of the watering in the test. When there is no wind, the device followed the pre-drawn map fairly accurately and thus watered the area precisely. In windy conditions, the story looks different as usual. However, this is the case with any irrigation in a high arc.
The prerequisite for complete coverage is, of course, that the Aiper IrriSense has a "clear view" of the entire area. If trees or bushes are in the way, there will be an unwatered area behind them. This can be better avoided with a fixed installation with several small sprinklers. Unless you want or need to install several IrriSense in the garden (e.g. due to the size), which then quickly becomes quite expensive.
The Aiper app shows the approximate amount of water distributed under "Irrigation records". This allows you to keep an eye on the costs of watering your garden. The Aiper IrriSense also takes the weather into account and stops watering when rain is detected via the integrated sensor. The power consumption is only a few watts.
The system would be even more sophisticated if there were an additional sensor that measures soil moisture. This is available from competitor Gardena, for example. Then a truly smart irrigation control system would be possible that takes into account the actual situation of the soil as well as the weather. Unfortunately, networking in the smart home via Matter or Home Assistant is not currently possible either. Otherwise, this problem could at least be solved in a roundabout way.
Transparency
The selection of devices to be reviewed is made by our editorial team. The test sample was given to the author by the manufacturer free of charge for the purposes of review. There was no third-party influence on this review, nor did the manufacturer receive a copy of this review before publication. There was no obligation to publish this review. We never accept compensation or payment in return for our reviews. As an independent media company, Notebookcheck is not subjected to the authority of manufacturers, retailers or publishers.
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