Built a 20-zone local irrigation controller — no cloud, no subscription, Raspberry Pi based, browser UI
Long time lurker, first time poster with something I actually built.
Like a lot of people here I got increasingly uncomfortable with how many of my "smart home" devices depend on someone else's servers staying online. My irrigation controller was the last straw.
So I spent the better part of two years building SprinkleSmarter — a 20-zone irrigation controller that runs entirely on your local network.
The technical stack for those curious:
Raspberry Pi 5
Django REST API backend
React frontend
3x 8-channel relay boards for zone control
24VAC transformer for valve solenoids
Local WiFi with mDNS — access at sprinklesmarter.local from any browser
First boot captive portal for WiFi setup — no app required
What it does:
20 independent zones with full per-zone scheduling
Manual zone control from any browser
Runs completely offline — no internet required after WiFi setup
No cloud dependency, no subscription, no vendor lock-in
First boot experience:
Power it on, connect your phone to the SprinkleSmarter-Setup WiFi network, browser opens automatically to the setup page, enter your home WiFi credentials, done. From that point it's accessible at sprinklesmarter.local from anything on your network.
I've been running this on my own yard for over a year. Just launched it commercially at $399 one-time purchase.
Website: sprinklesmarter.com
Happy to answer technical questions — I built every layer of this thing so nothing is off limits.