Smart Tech Valve - Automatic Watering Valve
Allowing any user to set up a maintenance free system with a tray, pots and a water supply, the Smart Valve, activated by a non-powered moisture and humidity sensor, is a new patented regulator to control the flow of water to plants.
How does Smart Valve work?
The Smart Valve has two compartments - one open to the environment, the other forming a channel through which water flows under certain conditions.
The two compartments are completely separated by a pressure transmitting membrane. A precisely engineered smart actuator disc is incorporated in the "open" compartment. It is this disc which senses the need for watering and allows it to be delivered as and when required.
When the Smart Valve is appropriately connected to a water reservoir, the actuator detects the humidity and water availability in the environment of the plant roots and responds by opening or closing the water flow.
If the humidity is less than 70% the valve actuator will remain in its dry, un-swollen state (Figure 1) and water will flow through valve into the soil at the plant roots.
Water continues to flow until the Smart Valve actuator senses that local humidity exceeds 70%. It then swells, closing off the valve and preventing the flow of water (Figure 2). It remains in this swollen state until the humidity has returned to a lower level. As humidity decreases, the disc shrinks back to its original size and shape and the process starts over again.
Smart Tech Valve's adjustable water depth dial regulator
