H-FARM Campus
Roncade TV
Italy
Site Profile
Situated in the heart of the River Sile Natural Park in the Venetian countryside, the H-FARM compound is home to the largest innovation hub in Europe. The one-of-a-kind campus is among the largest single-parcel agricultural estates in Italy. Amenities include student housing, sports complexes, event spaces, educational facilities, offices, restaurants, and a large library.
Creating a modern, high-efficiency irrigation system that could water 708,661 ft2 (216,000 m2) of outdoor space within a maximum run time of six hours was just part of the challenge. Additionally, the project had to be completed in a firm seven-month window. Under the guidance of landscape contractor Venice Green, work on the ambitious project began in February 2020 with the finished lawns scheduled for handoff in September 2020.
To meet the large-scale watering demands of the H-FARM campus, project planners turned to Hunter’s powerhouse ACC2 Decoder Controller for two-wire installation. Expandable up to 225 stations, the controller offered unmatched flexibility, with 32 independent programs, 10 start times, and a variety of overlapping, stacking, and management configurations. A plug-in Wi-Fi communications module enabled remote, web-based cloud management with the user-friendly Centralus™ Irrigation Management Platform. In addition, the ACC2 Decoder Controller was paired with 130 PGV-201 Valves, divided into 52 groups. Built to handle the rigors of commercial sites, this hardworking, heavy-duty valve was the ideal solution for the job.
Venice Green also installed 300 commercial-grade I-25 Rotors. With a flexible watering radius, this robust rotor delivers top performance in a variety of environments. In this case, it was used for 56 to 59' (17 to 18 m) distances. Additionally, 1,500 PGP Ultra Rotors were installed for watering ranges of 16 to 39' (5 to 12 m). With 34 nozzle options offering several radius choices, this dependable and versatile rotor is the perfect choice for a range of applications.
The landscape work was completed on schedule, and less than a year after construction began, H-FARM opened its facilities to the public in time for the start of the new academic year. Since then, facility managers have come to rely on the system’s diagnostic and text notification features to keep campus irrigation running efficiently.
To further maximize watering efficiency, facility managers retrofitted four previously installed ICC2 Controllers with new facepacks to enable Centralus Platform control in the summer of 2021. Three more controllers will be replaced in September 2021.
