The city of Helsingborg has embraced technology to save on water and fertilizers. A new digital service now alerts the city when it is time to water and fertilize the football fields.
The service saves both time and money, says Thomas Huldt, business developer and Internet of Things product owner at the City of Helsingborg. The city developed the technology together with Pingday, a digital solution provider owned by the city. “The service helps to reduce how much water is used and saves time for staff. They no longer need to go out and check if the football fields need to be watered but can take care of them when needed.”
Christian Olofsson, groundsman at Olympia FC where sensors monitor the surface, explains: “The biggest advantage for us is that we get an indication of the moisture and temperature in the ground directly on our mobile phones. It saves an hour of working time compared to walking around with moisture meters and measuring manually, which we otherwise do.
“Soil temperature is important in the spring. It should be six to eight degrees in the ground for the grass to start growing. It is not worth it for us to fertilize before then,” he adds.
The planners can see on their mobile phone how much rain there has been in the past week and what the weather forecast is for the coming days. In this way, they can better plan the care and avoid watering unnecessarily.
The sensors allow the planners to instantly find out the temperature and humidity of the soil.
One of the city’s innovations
As the municipality uses tap water to water its natural grass surfaces, the new service helps them to save on drinking water, electricity, transport costs and fertilizers. It also contributes to the greening of the grass fields further into the season.