Frequently asked questions.

BLADE™ is a subsurface soil moisture sensor built for professional turfgrass environments: athletic fields, stadium practice sites, municipal fields, and institutional turf. It is installed beneath the ground's surface to measure root-zone moisture and surface temperature, giving irrigation and landscape managers the data they need to make better irrigation decisions.

BLADE™ is buried in the root zone and measures moisture at multiple depths. It transmits readings over LoRaWAN to a gateway, which forwards data to your dashboard or API. The data from BLADE™ shows you how much water is available to the roots of your turf so you can adjust irrigation scheduling with confidence.

No. BLADE™ is designed to inform decisions, not to actuate controllers.

Use BLADE™ to understand soil conditions. If the data shows the soil is too dry or too wet, you then adjust irrigation schedules or controller settings accordingly. Data from BLADE™ can be integrated into decision-support workflows and third-party systems, but it does not directly control valves.

No. BLADE™ has no wires and needs no expensive control system. It runs on its own batteries and reports over LoRaWAN, so you can add it to any landscape without the need for an irrigation system, and keep it when one goes in later.

That depends on the size of the area you're monitoring, soil variability, and your individual monitoring goals. Many customers start with 1–3 sensors to validate site behavior and later expand to a system of 8–12 sensors for comprehensive coverage. A good strategy is to place sensors in representative zones such as high-traffic wear areas, shaded pockets, and turf transitions. Then, you can scale from there.

The default reporting interval of BLADE™ is 15 minutes, providing near-real-time trend visibility. Upon request, this can be extended to 30 or 60 minutes to increase battery life.

Under standard 15-minute reporting intervals, BLADE™ batteries are estimated to last approximately 3 years.

If your application allows for longer reporting intervals, the device can be configured to transmit every 30 minutes or 1 hour to extend life beyond 5 years.

BLADE™ is LoRaWAN-enabled and works on Harmony Analytica’s LoRaWAN network as well as compatible third-party LoRaWAN gateways.

Professional accounts purchasing 12+ units may deploy BLADE™ on compatible third-party LoRaWAN network servers. Sign up to be a professional installer today!

Orders under 12 units operate on the Harmony Analytica LoRaWAN network.

Wi-Fi works well indoors over short distances. It becomes unreliable and expensive to scale outdoors, especially across large commercial properties.

Typical outdoor Wi-Fi coverage without repeaters is limited to roughly 150–300 feet under ideal conditions. Trees, buildings, terrain changes, and irrigation vaults reduce that range even further. Extending coverage requires additional access points, power sources, trenching, and ongoing IT management.

BLADE™ uses LoRaWAN instead because it was designed specifically for long-range, low-power outdoor communication. A single gateway can often cover entire commercial properties, including parks, campuses, sports complexes, and HOAs. LoRaWAN penetrates vegetation and structures better than Wi-Fi and operates with dramatically lower power consumption, allowing multi-year battery life.

For large-scale commercial landscapes, Wi-Fi adds complexity. LoRaWAN removes it.

LoRaWAN range depends on environment and gateway placement. In open field conditions BLADE™ can transmit data over distances exceeding one mile; in congested or obstructed settings range will be shorter. Proper gateway planning is important for reliable coverage at large sites.

Yes. BLADE™ is fully waterproof and designed for installation in the ground. The housing and components are engineered to withstand turf conditions, irrigation and rain events, and regular field activity without missing a beat.

BLADE™ provides time-series moisture and surface temperature data. Data is accessible through Harmony Analytica dashboards and via API for integration with existing systems. Analytics, alerts, and notifications are provided via Harmony’s affordable web application (sold separately).

BLADE™ installs below the soil surface using turf coring or an auger. InstaRead™ magnetic activation simplifies commissioning.

Most irrigation professionals can install the device themselves using standard tools. No specialized certification or contractor is required.

If you have questions during setup, our team is available to assist.

BLADE™ is sold in 1-packs, 3-packs, and 12-packs. Installation guidance and commissioning instructions are included. Subscription software and network services are sold separately by Harmony Analytica.

BLADE™ includes a one-year 100% warranty against manufacturing defects and component failure under normal operating conditions.

The warranty does not cover physical damage, improper installation, or acts of nature such as flooding, lightning, or other environmental events beyond normal use.

If a covered issue arises within the warranty period, our team will repair or replace the unit to ensure continued performance. Contact us for details.