Digital service makes the grass greener and reduces water use

Is the grass greener on the other side? Yes, at least in Helsingborg it is. The City of Helsingborg has several football pitches that need maintaining. To make the work easier and save on water, the city has developed a digital service that shows when it is time to water and dress the football pitches with fertiliser. The amount of water the city saves on just one football pitch is more than an average home uses over the course of a year.

The service helps to reduce the amount of water used and also reduces the time staff have to spend working on the task. They no longer need to drive out and check whether the football pitches require watering. Instead, they can maintain them as and when needed.

This is how the service works

The pitch is equipped with sensors in the soil. This allows information about moisture and soil temperature to be received on a mobile phone. On their mobiles, the groundsmen can also see how much rain has fallen over the last week, as well as the weather forecast for the days ahead. In this way, they can better plan maintenance of the pitch and avoid watering it unnecessarily.

This is how much water the city has saved

“The amount of water we save on just one football pitch is more than an average home uses over the course of a year. Currently, five of our football pitches are connected up with sensors. This means savings equivalent to the annual water consumption of around 7.5 detached houses,” says Thomas Huldt, operations developer and IOT product owner at the City of Helsingborg.

The service has resulted in a number of good outcomes

• We save on water by only watering when it is really needed.
• Optimised application of fertiliser. When you know the soil temperature, no fertiliser goes to waste, as you know when the time is right.
• Better grass quality. The grass is healthy and grows stronger roots when it is not overwatered.
• We can access all data on our mobiles and can see both the weather forecast and historical data in the same view on the mobile. This makes it an excellent tool for arriving at the right decision and getting a full overview.
• At the Olympia stadium, the home ground of Helsingborg IF, we have reduced consumption when it comes to heating the pitch. This means that we save money, use less electricity and reduce pump wear and tear.

– “My hope is that the service can reduce our water use to the very minimum. I would really like to connect up more grassed areas, learn more from all the data, and optimise, streamline and refine the service further. There are a lot of green spaces in Helsingborg that can save on water consumption by using the service,” says Thomas Huldt, operations developer and IOT product owner at the City of Helsingborg.

One of the city’s innovations 

The new service helps save on drinking water, electricity, transport costs and fertiliser dressing. It also helps ensure the grass pitches are greener for longer during the season.

This is one of the city’s IOT (Internet of Things) products. Read more about the service at Helsingborg.se. The city saves water with a new digital service | Helsingborg.se