Clos du Val Automates Irrigations, Dials in Precision, and Grows Better Grapes with Lumo

Irrigation Hurdles and Headaches

As the Viticulture & Grower Relations Manager at Clos du Val Wine Co., Ryan Decker is committed to growing the highest quality fruit possible. 

But in the past, he lacked the ability to irrigate with precision. He couldn’t see how much water was flowing through his system and he wasn’t able to verify how much water was delivered to each block. 

Like most growers, he was stuck in the old paradigm of irrigating based on duration, rather than volume, with no ability to detect when and where his system was failing to meet his expectations. Plus, the timing of his irrigations were constrained by labor hours and pump capacity, which made it difficult to get everything watered before heat waves hit. 

Achieving Visibility, Precision, and Control

With Lumo One smart valves, Ryan has solved all of these challenges at once. 

Once installed and running, he was able to quickly see that his irrigation system wasn’t performing as he expected. On some blocks, actual flow rates were twice as high as he previously believed—an easy problem to fix, once it was made visible. 

With Lumo, Ryan is able to quickly and easily identify which blocks are underperforming with their irrigations.

Armed with accurate flow rate data, he’s now able to irrigate based on volume and can easily verify the amount of water being delivered. He can irrigate automatically at any time, day or night, and schedule irrigations in advance, which removes the labor constraints and allows him to better utilize his pump’s capacity throughout the day.

His irrigation process is now more efficient and less prone to error. He’s been able to reduce costs, dial in his precision, and get one step closer to having a fully autonomous irrigation system. 

Most importantly, he now has the data, visibility, and control necessary to optimize his water usage over time for the purpose of growing higher and higher quality grapes. Based on the results he’s seen, he intends to expand his use of Lumo across all of the acreage he manages. 

Why Clos du Val Chose Lumo 

“The product is plug and play without any wires to run or radios to set up.”

“A flow meter is incorporated into each valve that is capable of delivering irrigation sets by a volume, instead of a duration—the industry standard since drip irrigation was developed.”

“Lumo valves have the potential to unite my water use monitoring and water delivery systems, getting one step closer to an autonomous irrigation system.”

“I’ll be able to log all irrigations, by volume, for any water use reporting requirements that either exist now or will in the future.”

“All the people at Lumo are very approachable with issues and problems. I think that more than any other company I've worked with, they've listened to what we've had to say in the industry.”

Key Results from Clos Du Val’s First Year with Lumo

• Estimated labor savings: $200-300 an acre over the course of the season
• Estimated yield increase: 10-15% with better irrigation timing before heatwaves
• Additional ROI through improved crop quality, off-peak pumping, and quicker identification of equipment issues