The smart lawn sprinkler from Aiper tested: big and powerful, but not fully developed
2.9.2025
Translation: machine translated
The Irrisense from Aiper wants to water my lawn intelligently and save water at the same time, at least that's what the manufacturer says. However, when I tested it, I unintentionally used too much water.
I've tested a few irrigation systems, but I've never come across a device as large as the Irrisense from Aiper. It measures almost 60 centimetres in height and the base is larger than an A4 sheet of paper. There are two explanations for these impressive dimensions. Firstly, the Irrisense has space behind a flap for a canister, for example for liquid fertiliser. However, this feature is not yet available and a container is not included in the scope of delivery. The manufacturer has not yet provided any information on this either.
Secondly, the Irrisense is so high that the spray head has a good starting point to spray water as far as possible. Aiper specifies twelve metres. It achieved this without any problems when tested. Other devices, such as the Aqua Precise from Gardena (here is my test report on it), are less powerful. For the Irrisense, however, it is important that you do not operate with a hose that is too thin and too little water pressure from the pipe. I tested with a ¾-inch hose and around three bars of pressure.
Before watering, I have to unpack and assemble the device, which I get from the Swiss Aiper importer for testing purposes. It comes in a nice package with a quick start guide on cardboard and a detailed user manual in different languages.
The device is ready to use straight away. Almost, at least. Of course, it needs a water connection. In the box I find a non-return valve, two different sized quick connectors and a threaded quick coupling. A piece of hose with a ¾-inch connection sticks out of the back of the Irrisense. It is no particular challenge to connect my Gardena garden hose.
As soon as I turn on the tap, I realise that the Irrisense connection is not completely tight. The water is spraying out quite wildly. To fix the problem, I briefly disassemble it into its individual parts and reassemble it more firmly until it is as tight as I can make it. A few drops still squeeze through somewhere. Which is bad for a device that is permanently connected to an open tap - and is actually intended to help save water.
And I still can't put the Irrisense into operation. Because it needs power. Fortunately, I have sockets in the garden. Thanks to a 10-metre extension cable, I can choose a reasonably flexible location. Nevertheless, the black power cable and possibly also the garden hose may well be visible in your garden. You almost certainly don't have the power socket and tap nearby in the perfect place to set it up.
Speaking of nearby. To start up the Irrisense, you need your smartphone and have to stay within Bluetooth range. I connect the Irrisense to my Wi-Fi in the Aiper app so that I can control the irrigation at any time and from anywhere. When setting up, Aiper asks me for my home address and then shows me a blurred satellite image of the property. I have to mark the area of lawn to be watered with dots and indicate the location of the watering tower. However, this is very imprecise and I have to measure the area again later anyway.
About the location: The Irrisense can cover a maximum circle with a radius of twelve metres, which is over 440 square metres. If you have an area 20 metres long, for example, you will need to place the Irrisense somewhere halfway around it. With its 360-degree head, it can then reach both sides easily. I have an L-shaped lawn with two sections about ten metres long. That's why I place the Irrisense at the angled corner.
Then it's time to measure. The app tells me what to do. I use four arrow keys to determine the length of the water jet and steer the direction of the throw. My task is to steer the end of the water jet to the edge of the lawn and then set edge points there that define the shape of the area to be watered.
That sounds easier than it is. Control via the app is rather sluggish and the water jet is anything but precise. It is also less of a jet and more of a rain fan. This is due to a small rubber lip on the outlet valve. In principle, it is good if the water is distributed in smaller droplets over a wider area. However, it means that the Irrisense finds itself in a self-produced cloud of water and the humidity around the device is soon as high as in the Indian monsoon.
Because of the wide spread - around three metres at a distance of five metres - and because of the heavy misting, it is hardly relevant how accurately I capture the contour of the lawn when setting up. Something always gets wet that I would rather have dry. For example, the windows of the seating area. And the «adaptive re-spraying», as seen in the video above, seems to do more harm than good. Everything gets even worse in light winds. The Irrisense sprays the water quite high, about 2.50 metres, to bolt range. Accordingly, it blows the jet quite strongly.
In the test, I measured how evenly the water was distributed when there was no wind. In short: not good. After three rounds of sprinkling, there are very different amounts of water in containers set up on the lawn, with a deviation of up to 50 per cent.
Apart from this, there are a few clever ideas on how the Irrisense irrigates. For example, it also sprays the area directly in front of it well, and it is also supposed to drop its water on the ground like a gentle land rain, which is particularly practical for newly sown lawns.
Good app, little connectivity
I really like the Irrisense app. It has a logical structure and I can quickly find what I'm looking for in the menu items. Setting up schedules is easy and self-explanatory. Because the Irrisense has a rain sensor and accesses local weather data, it also suspends or adjusts a watering schedule if the lawn has already been watered by Mother Nature. However, Aiper does not yet offer an interface to smart home systems. Nevertheless, the app shows you data on water consumption and watering history - if that interests you.
I find it extremely impractical that I cannot adjust an irrigation area that has been recorded. If I want to change something, I have to delete it completely and create it again. And it's also not possible to create a second area if, for example, you want to use the tower in two locations in an angled garden. Aiper then assumes that you simply buy a second device.
In a nutshell
Okay, but simply not good enough for the price
Cobbler, stick to your last, as the saying goes. I would also advise Aiper not to jeopardise its good reputation in the field of robot vacuum cleaners for pools. Because the Irrisense doesn't seem to me to have been thought through to the end. The fact that there is no smart home integration for the proud price of over 600 francs is disappointing.
Yes, it is attractively designed, looks futuristic and can water a very large area of lawn. But it has weaknesses in terms of functionality. Although the watering jet is powerful for what are usually rather small Swiss gardens, it is scattered far too widely and is therefore imprecise. Perhaps the device is better suited to larger American front gardens, where size is more important than accuracy.
Pro
- High range of twelve metres
- Irrigates a relatively large area
- 360 degree swivelling
- Comprehensible app
- Simple set-up
Contra
- Requires power connection
- relatively large and therefore conspicuous
- Water jet very wide and high, therefore very imprecise and susceptible to wind
- Only one map can be saved in the app, no subsequent adjustments possible
- No smart home integration
Martin Jungfer
Head of Content
Martin.Jungfer@digitecgalaxus.chJournalist since 1997. Stopovers in Franconia (or the Franken region), Lake Constance, Obwalden, Nidwalden and Zurich. Father since 2014. Expert in editorial organisation and motivation. Focus on sustainability, home office tools, beautiful things for the home, creative toys and sports equipment.
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