What Spruce Irrigation does

Spruce Irrigation is a direct-to-consumer smart-irrigation brand operated by Plaid Systems LLC, a privately held US LLC founded in 2014 and based in San Francisco, California. The company designs and sells a WiFi-connected irrigation controller (Gen2, supporting up to 16 zones plus master/pump), paired with optional Zigbee wireless soil-moisture sensors (Gen2 and Gen3) and an EveryDrop flow-meter accessory. Software control is delivered through iOS, Android, and a web app, with native integrations into Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Samsung SmartThings, Hubitat, Home Assistant, and Apple HomeKit (via a community Homebridge plugin).

The core technology combines hyper-local weather forecasting with an evapotranspiration (ET) water-balance algorithm and optional real-time soil-moisture sensor data to automate zone-specific watering schedules. The controller runs on a Broadcom BCM43362 2.4 GHz WiFi chipset with a Zigbee mesh network for sensor communication; zone-level inputs include soil type, nozzle precipitation rate, root depth, and absorption rate. A "Learn Mode" tunes soil-moisture thresholds from observed watering history. The system was previously EPA WaterSense certified (2018) and tested to SWAT standards, though the WaterSense listing was delisted in March 2021.

Revenue mechanics rely primarily on one-time hardware sales through the company website and mobile app stores, with cloud and app services currently positioned as freemium under terms that reserve the right to charge for certain features in the future. The target customer is water-conscious residential homeowners with irrigation systems, particularly those embedded in mainstream smart-home ecosystems; the company also references utility rebate channels (e.g., Santa Clara Water District) for environmentally focused buyers. No enterprise customers, channel partners, or distribution partnerships beyond smart-home platforms are disclosed, and there is no disclosed funding, headcount, or revenue data.

Name

Spruce Irrigation

Legal name

Plaid Systems LLC

Website

https://spruceirrigation.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Spruce Irrigation, operated by Plaid Systems LLC, designs and sells WiFi smart irrigation controllers, Zigbee soil-moisture sensors, and flow meters for water-conscious residential homeowners, integrating with Alexa, Google Assistant, SmartThings, Hubitat, Home Assistant, and HomeKit.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Smart Irrigation Controllers

NAICS

Lawn and Garden Tractor and Home Lawn and Garden Equipment Manufacturing (333112), Water Supply and Irrigation Systems (221310)

SIC

Auto Controls For Regulating Residential & Comml Environments (3822)

akta.pro primary industry

Controller/Timer & Smart Irrigation Setup (Wi‑Fi, Sensors) (HSAIAEAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Irrigation Control & Automation (Controllers, Valves, Sensors, IoT) (AFAAACAF), Irrigation Monitoring & Sensors (Flow/Pressure Meters, Soil Moisture, Water Quality Sensors) (AFABAHAJ), Smart Irrigation & Outdoor Automation Integration (HSAHADAH)

Keywords

• Smart irrigation controllers
• Soil moisture sensors
• Home automation integration
• Water conservation technology
• Weather-based scheduling

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Hardware Sales: One-time sales of Spruce smart irrigation controllers, soil moisture sensors, and accessories. Physical products sold directly through company website.
2. Cloud Services (Freemium): Some services currently provided free; company reserves right to charge fees for certain services in the future. Cloud connectivity for app control and data analytics.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Spruce Irrigation designs, manufactures, and sells a WiFi-enabled smart irrigation controller (Gen2) that automatically optimizes residential lawn and garden watering schedules by combining real-time soil moisture sensor data with hyper-local weather and evapotranspiration (ET) modeling. The product ecosystem includes optional Zigbee-based Spruce soil moisture sensors (Gen2/Gen3) and the EveryDrop flow meter for leak and water-use monitoring, all managed through the Spruce mobile and web app.

Product overview

Spruce Irrigation offers a smart irrigation ecosystem consisting of the Spruce Gen2 WiFi Irrigation Controller as the core platform, paired with optional wireless soil moisture sensors (Gen2 and Gen3) and the EveryDrop Flow Meter accessory. The system is controlled via the Spruce mobile app (iOS/Android) and web dashboard, integrating with major smart home platforms including Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Samsung SmartThings, Hubitat, Home Assistant, and Apple HomeKit via Homebridge. The platform uses weather-based evapotranspiration (ET) calculations and optional soil moisture sensor data to automatically optimize watering schedules, potentially saving up to 60% water compared to conventional timer-based irrigation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Spruce Controller: Smart irrigation controller device with WiFi connectivity, supporting up to 16 zones plus master or pump control. Features smart scheduling, weather adjustments, and remote control via app.
• Spruce Sensor
• EveryDrop Flow Meter

Products and services

• Spruce Gen2 Irrigation Controller WiFi-enabled smart irrigation controller supporting up to 16 zones plus a master or pump port, with 2.4 GHz WiFi (Broadcom BCM43362), Zigbee mesh for sensors, rain and flow sensor inputs, status and zone LEDs, control buttons, valve health monitoring, surge suppression, and overcurrent detection with PTC fuse. Designed for residential homeowners who want automatic, weather-driven sprinkler control.
• Spruce Gen3 Sensor Wireless Zigbee soil moisture and temperature sensor providing real-time volumetric water content data for adaptive irrigation scheduling. Features CR123A battery, magnet-based pairing, LED indicator, and twist-off mounting for residential yards and gardens.
• Spruce Gen2 Sensor Wireless Zigbee soil moisture and surface temperature sensor with CR2477 battery, magnet pairing, screw mounting (4x screws), and audible beep pairing indicator. Used to trigger precision watering based on actual soil conditions.
• EveryDrop Flow Meter Water flow measurement accessory that monitors real-time irrigation water usage and provides leak detection, high-flow and low-flow notifications, and precise consumption tracking for residential irrigation systems.
• Spruce App iOS, Android, and web application for remotely controlling, monitoring, and scheduling Spruce irrigation systems. Features real-time soil moisture visualization, water-use analytics, leak and flow alerts, voice assistant integration, and zone-by-zone configuration.

Quantifiable outcome

• Saves up to 60% of water usage compared to conventional timer-based schedules

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

AI capability4 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• AmazoncoreTechnology or IntegrationAmazon Alexa integration allows voice control of Spruce irrigation system. Users can tell Spruce to turn zones on/off, activate manual schedules, stop watering, and ask about recent watering using Amazon Echo or Google Assistant devices.
• GooglecoreTechnology or IntegrationGoogle Assistant integration enables voice control of Spruce irrigation, complementing Amazon Alexa integration for smart home ecosystem coverage.
• Samsung SmartThingscoreTechnology or IntegrationSmartThings hub integration for Gen2 Controller. Spruce Sensor data can be sent from SmartThings to Spruce cloud via dedicated SmartApp. Supports SmartThings V2, V3, and Aeotec SmartThings hubs.
• HubitatcoreTechnology or IntegrationHubitat Elevation hub integration for Spruce Sensors via custom device driver. Sensors connect through Zigbee directly to Hubitat hub.
• Home AssistantcoreTechnology or IntegrationHome Assistant integration via Zigbee (ZHA or ZIGBEE2MQTT). Spruce Sensor identified as model PS-SPRZMS-SLP3. Requires Zigbee bridge with device driver.
• Santa Clara Water DistrictminorOthersRegional water district offering irrigation equipment rebates. Not listed on EPA rebate finder website but offers rebates at their local portal. Referenced as example of regional rebate opportunities.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Netro: Netro produces the Whisperer smart irrigation controller with cloud-based evapotranspiration scheduling and optional soil sensors. It is a focused, smaller-scale direct competitor operating in the same weather-and-sensor precision watering niche as Spruce.
• Skydrop: Skydrop manufactures a smart sprinkler controller using ET-based scheduling and smartphone control with integrations into broader smart home platforms. It serves the same residential homeowner segment with similar DIY install and weather-driven scheduling.
• Yardian: Yardian offers a smart irrigation controller with Amazon Alexa integration and weather-based scheduling for residential irrigation. Competes head-to-head with Spruce on smart home voice control and weather-driven watering efficiency for homeowners.
• Rachio: Rachio is the most well-known direct competitor in residential WiFi smart irrigation controllers, offering the Rachio 3 with weather-based scheduling, soil sensor integration, and broad smart home integrations. It targets the same homeowner use case, the same DIY install profile, and the same smart-home ecosystem partnerships as Spruce.
• GreenIQ: GreenIQ provides a smart irrigation hub connecting existing controllers to cloud-based, weather-aware scheduling and smart home ecosystems. Targets the same connected-yard upgrade narrative for homeowners retrofitting legacy irrigation systems.

Broad incumbents

• Hunter Industries (Hydrawise): Hunter's Hydrawise platform delivers WiFi-enabled smart irrigation controllers with predictive watering and full smart home integrations. As a long-established irrigation OEM, Hunter overlaps Spruce on residential smart controls while extending across commercial and golf-grade irrigation.
• Rain Bird: Rain Bird is a large, established irrigation manufacturer offering the LNK WiFi Module and ESP-RZXe controller with mobile app control. Its product breadth and pro-channel relationships position it as a broad incumbent that competes with Spruce in the connected-controller category while serving much larger commercial and agricultural accounts.
• Orbit Irrigation (B-hyve): Orbit's B-hyve line offers indoor and outdoor smart hose tap and controller products with weather-based scheduling and Alexa/Google integrations. The same DIY, water-conscious homeowner persona overlaps with Spruce, and Orbit's larger retail distribution channel makes it a meaningful adjacent competitor.
• Toro (Smart Connectivity): Toro is a major irrigation OEM with mobile-app and sensor-equipped controllers that compete in the residential smart-controller category. Operates as a broad incumbent with deep distribution and a much larger product portfolio than Spruce.

Emerging players

• Alarm.com (irrigation): Alarm.com extends its smart home platform into irrigation control for connected homes. As a platform incumbent in home security and automation, Alarm.com competes indirectly with Spruce at the smart-home-integrated irrigation level rather than as a pure-play irrigation vendor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SpruceWater
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/plaid-systems-llc

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Spruce Irrigation