World Water Day: Hatz Digital Solutions help to withstand periods of drought

Recent years have seen increasingly long periods of drought in many regions of Germany and Europe. These weather extremes are one of the most serious consequences of climate change. In order to at least cushion the droughts, innovative irrigation concepts are needed. We at Hatz Digital Solutions are developing automated solutions to be able to use our valuable resources as sustainably as possible in the future.  

If there is no or very little rain for weeks, crop yields which provide society's food supply are at risk. This is one of the issues that today's UNESCO World Water Day highlights. The availability of water is becoming an increasingly critical factor in ensuring food security for the world's growing population. What can be done to make water available as efficiently as possible and at the same time do something about prolonged periods of drought? Smart irrigation systems are one solution.   

Sensor-based irrigation   

We at Hatz Digital Solutions are already working on such smart solutions. We can drive irrigation pumps via our digitally remote-connected compact engines. In a unique way the digital connection allows sensor data to be integrated for decision-making. Moisture sensors, for example, can be used to measure the actual moisture level of the soil to be irrigated. This together with the weather data can be integrated to determine the optimal time and degree of irrigation. The intelligent system recognises, for example, that it will not rain and therefore activates the pump. This animation shows how it works:  

Conserving resources the eco-friendlyway  

In contrast to time-switched systems, the engine or the water pump in our system is only activated when it is really necessary. On the one hand, this conserves water reserves, on the other hand, it reduces the diesel consumption of the engine. This in turn leads to lower emissions and thus to reduced environmental pollution. Furthermore, the farmer no longer has to actively drive to his fields, which also leads to an optimised CO2 balance.   

Automation for compact systems  

Thanks to the electronic capabilities of our Hatz single-cylinder engines, such concepts can be implemented economically in conjunction with our digital solutions, even for very small applications such as irrigation systems. In this way, we transfer complex systems such as those known from large agricultural machines to small and compact applications - and at the same time contribute to a more efficient and climate-friendly use of available resources.