Hunter Sprinkler SOLARSYNCSEN Solar Sync Smart Irrigation Controller - Compatible with ACC & X-Core Controllers | Automatic Watering System for Lawns & Gardens

We live in Las Vegas and we also spend the summer away from Las Vegas in a cooler climate for the the entire summer so we have some unique irrigation problems. The system has to work seamlessly and unmonitored for the entire summer while we are away. We have had smart sprinkler controllers in our homes for close to 20 years so we know that the smart controller concept works. In our previous home we had a cloud based system which we moved to our new home 8 years ago. About 6 years ago, support for the cloud based system was dropped by the vendor so we converted the Hunter system with a wireless SolarSync addon to change the watering times in response to varying temperature (hot, hotter, hottest).All I can say is that the Hunter SolarSync system has worked perfectly without any problems or issues since we installed it. Whenever we return to Vegas at the end of the summer, all of our vegetation is alive and flourishing. Another advantage of the SolarSync system is that it is purely local and is not cloud based. This means that we can turn off the internet in our Las Vegas home when we are away which saves us several hundred dollars over the course of the summer. I should mention that at both our current house and at the previous one, we have had large trees and shrubs totally watered by drip irrigation.I will say that initial setup of the system of the Hunter controller and also of the SolarSync addon is more difficult that a simple timer type irrigation controller. I had to make several calls to Hunter technical support before setup was complete and their excellent technical support had to talk me through some issues but once it was properly set up, we have not had to touch it for 6 years, It just works and nothing dies. If you are a techno idiot, you may have to get some help on it from your landscape professional but once they do it and as long as you don't play w the settings you will be OK forever.Obviously highly recommended. To be honest, I can't tell you how much money we save w smart controllers over simple timer type controllers as we have been using smart controller but we would never go back. One more thing. Before you install any smart system, check w your local water company to see if there are any rebates available. The smart controllers on our old home and in our new one were essentially free as the Las Vegas Water District has a rebate program. Even better, when we removed most of the grass in our old home and converted to dessert landscaping, they paid us $3 per square foot to remove the grass, A win win.