Water is a valuable resource worldwide. In agriculture, its efficient use often determines yield, profitability, and sustainability. In times of climate change with increasingly prolonged dry periods, targeted and water-saving irrigation is becoming more important—not only in southern countries, but also in our latitudes. A district in Germany has now addressed this issue and, with the help of PSsystec‘s SMARTebox nanoIO IoT solution, has put agricultural irrigation on a digital footing.
The challenge: Time-consuming monitoring and water waste
Until now, farmers and/or the administration typically have had to regularly check on site whether irrigation schedules are being adhered to—requiring significant personnel and labor effort. Compounding this is the fact that many pumping stations and water meters are distributed across the area, difficult to access, and not connected to any IT systems. In most cases, retrofitting IT connectivity is considered either too expensive or, from a technical perspective, neither feasible nor practical.
Without digital control, water is also wasted—for example, when irrigation is carried out at unfavorable times of day, resulting in excessive evaporation losses. For the German district mentioned above, these challenges led to the decision to seek an economical and future-proof digitalization solution. Especially since the planned shutdown of the 2G network in Germany on June 30, 2028, will in any case make it mandatory to upgrade existing systems and infrastructure to 4G or 5G.
Challenges at a glance:
- High effort due to manual monitoring
- Evaporation losses caused by unfavorable irrigation times
- Decentralized infrastructure and lack of IT connectivity
- Forced technological transition due to the 2G shutdown
The solution: Simple IoT retrofit implementation
The district opted for an industrial-grade IoT solution based on the SMARTebox nanoIO from PSsystec. This is a compact, IP65-rated, battery-powered data logger that the provider specifically developed for easy retrofitting of decentralized—and even underground—installations. Thanks to cellular connectivity via LTE-M and NB-IoT, the device enables remote reading of meters and connections from potential-free alarm contacts for remote monitoring, fault reporting, and anomaly detection. If the signal in the shaft is severely attenuated, an external antenna can be used as an optional remedy.
Real-time feedback via SMS alerts provides information on the start, end, and volume of irrigation as well as soil moisture, thereby increasing transparency. SMS notifications can also be triggered when predefined threshold values are exceeded. The alarm input synchronizes the event directly with the IoT platform and transmits all current measurement values for direct comparison with planned target values.
The SMARTebox nanoIO is compatible with all meters featuring a pulse output and offers four potential-free inputs for counting pulses or alarm contacts. It also has a BLE interface that can be connected to Bluetooth-enabled beacons (e.g., for temperature/humidity/ID/door switch/water leakage). Secure data transmission and integrity are ensured via the Telekom PSA-certified transmission path to the IoT platform. Using the open REST API, data can be retrieved from any operating system, making integration straightforward. Powered by five standard batteries, the device can operate autonomously for up to five years.
Sensor commissioning, configuration, and fleet management are performed remotely via a web app on the IoT platform. In the Remote Manager, installed devices can be centrally activated, monitored, and diagnosed from a single location—either from a desktop in the office or on the go. The status of the connected installation can be clearly analyzed in charts using various widget-based dashboards.
Key features of the SMARTebox nanoIO
- Battery power supply using 5 standard AA cells in a replaceable battery pack
- 4 inputs for counting pulses or alarm contacts
- Waterproof housing
- Remote configuration via IoT platform
- REST API for integration with the operator’s system
- Web app for sensor commissioning
- Mounting options: magnet, wall, pipe
In the district mentioned, the SMARTebox nanoIO is now used to record flow rates via meters and compare them with planned time windows, for example from 8 to 10 p.m.
The result: Reduced water consumption and lower personnel effort
The introduction of PSsystec’s IoT solution delivered numerous benefits for the district. Demand-based, time-controlled irrigation reduced evaporation losses and significantly increased irrigation efficiency. The result is a substantially lower water consumption and reduced costs, meaning the upgrade to digital technology paid for itself within a very short time. Positive effects were also achieved in terms of transparency: automated documentation enables seamless data recording for internal analyses or for processing subsidy and funding applications. Manual on-site checks by staff are no longer required, freeing up capacity for other tasks.
In summary, this digitalization project clearly demonstrates how IoT technology in water management can deliver immediate, tangible benefits in day-to-day operations—without the need to build complex new infrastructure—while also making a valuable contribution to sustainable resource management.
Results at a glance:
- Reduced water consumption and increased efficiency
- Greater transparency and improved monitoring
- Automated documentation
- Reduced personnel and inspection effort
- Future-proofing thanks to modern cellular technologies
