Let's be honest—most sprinkler timers are a pain to program. You stand there in your garage pushing tiny buttons, trying to remember which zone covers the front flower beds, and inevitably you end up watering during a thunderstorm because you forgot to check the forecast.
The Orbit B-hyve changes all of that. Once it's connected to your home WiFi, you control everything through an app on your phone. Heading out of town for a week? Pull up your watering schedule from the airport. Notice brown patches in the backyard while you're at work? Adjust that zone's timing without rushing home. The interface actually makes sense, which is more than most sprinkler controllers can claim.
Here's where it gets genuinely useful: the B-hyve pulls local weather data and adjusts your watering schedule automatically. Rain in the forecast? It skips the cycle. Unusually hot week ahead? It adds extra time. This isn't just convenient—it can cut your water usage by up to 50% compared to a dumb timer that waters on the same schedule whether your lawn needs it or not.
Over a summer, those savings add up fast. Many homeowners find the controller pays for itself within a season or two, especially if you were previously overwatering.
With six independent zones, you can set different schedules for different parts of your landscape. Your sun-baked front lawn might need water every other morning, while the shady side yard only needs it twice a week. Flower beds can run on drip irrigation cycles while the grass gets full sprays. Each zone gets its own customized program.
The controller works for both indoor installations (like a garage or utility room) and outdoor setups (mounted near your main water line). Setup takes about 30 minutes if you're replacing an existing timer, maybe an hour if you're starting from scratch.
You don't need to replace your sprinkler heads or dig up your yard. The B-hyve replaces whatever timer or controller you currently have and connects to the same valve wires. It's compatible with standard 24V AC sprinkler systems—the kind most homes already use.
The app tracks your water usage over time, which is handy if your municipality has watering restrictions or tiered pricing. You can see exactly how many gallons each zone uses and spot problems early (like a zone that's suddenly using way more water than usual, which might indicate a leak).
