In fact, if you talk to contractors who use remotes, you’ll find they wouldn’t part with them. By allowing them to single-handedly check an irrigation system, and to turn the water on and off at the push of a button, the remote has gone from a luxury item to an essential tool for doing a job more efficiently and effectively, thus saving time and money.

But making your job as a contractor easier is just the beginning. A remote control unit is one of the easiest add-on sales to a residential client. There was a time when remotes were expensive and used mainly in the large commercial properties. Those days are long gone. Today, one of the biggest growth areas for remote control irrigation systems is the residential market.

Before looking at how remote control units are catching on with consumers, let’s take a look at how they evolved from cumbersome, expensive, unreliable headaches to profitable, time-saving devices.

Like other modern technology, as costs have decreased, improvements have advanced. Remotes became simpler to use; issues like reliability, transmission quality and distance range are now history. Obstacles, such as garages in the line of sight, ceased to be a problem. In fact, once it became possible to manage an entire network of irrigation controllers from a single site, it wasn’t long before remote controls took off like wildfire.

In the commercial market, more demands are made on a remote because there are usually more stations that they need to operate, and more area that needs to be irrigated. Consequently, these units are usually a bit more heavy-duty and more expensive than units designed for the residential market.

Photo courtesy: Hunter Industries

In this article, we’re going to address remotes for the residential market; however, we do want to keep you informed about the more elaborate units used in the commercial area. Now-a-days, in addition to remotes made for a specific controller, there are hand held remote units that are universal. That means it can be used for more than one brand controller. There are also units on the market that are web-based, as well as some controllers that will take instructions from cell phones, palm pilots, and satellites.
With these instruments you can program, trouble-shoot, or check an irrigation system from anywhere in the world.

But before I go exotic on you, let’s talk about the residential market and how remote control units can be beneficial. For the landscape and maintenance contractor, the advantages to converting an irrigation system and making it remote-control compatible, far outweighs the initial outlay of capital.

Remotes have a modest, initial out-of- pocket cost. But according to Keith Shepersky, senior product manager at Irritrol Systems in Riverside, California, they quickly pay for themselves because one man in the field can accomplish what once required at least two men. And that will significantly reduce labor costs.

Using a battery-operated remote unit offers reliable communication with a compatible controller from anywhere on a jobsite. This allows a contractor to activate watering stations without having to walk back to the controller. For example, during installation and start-up, debris can be flushed out by advancing through the stations, using the remote, letting the water run for a couple of minutes with the lowest heads uncovered.

Routine system maintenance is also made easier; specific watering stations can be turned on to make adjustments and identify potential problems. The contractor can demonstrate the system for the customer prior to final sign-off with a walk-through starting and advancing through the scheduled programs.

Remotes are also an aid in winterization in the colder northern climates. “The maintenance function of blowing water out of a system before a freeze is particularly adaptable to the money-saving concept of one person doing the work of two,” says Shepersky.

In arid areas where the landscape may be stressed by a sudden heat wave, the remote allows the maintenance crew to turn on the appropriate watering stations, all while dealing with whatever landscape issues need to be addressed.

Remote controls are available as either proprietary or universal. Proprietary remotes will work only with the controller of one manufacturer. They are not compatible with different brands. Universal remotes are designed to control a system made by any manufacturer and are capable of connecting to any controllers that are equipped to work with remotes.

Contractors, who have many properties to care for, will find that among their clients there are a variety of different brand name controllers. With one universal unit, he can check on the irrigation system for all his clients that have remote control features. It’s this convenience that makes them desirable. For example, when he finishes mowing the lawn, by using the remote to turn on the irrigation system, he can make sure no sprinkler heads are broken, etc.

According to Jeff Carowitz, marketing manager at Hunter Industries, in San Marcos, California, “Many landscape contractors use proprietary remotes because they can be purchased as an upgrade for an existing system, and they are designed to be connected and left on site; so the contractor does not have to carry them around with him.”

Proprietary controls are also popular because of their prices, “They’re less expensive because they’re relative to individual systems,” says Carowitz. “Because they are designed to work with a specific system, they require less circuitry, and that is reflected in the price.”

Regardless of the type of controller you settle on, remotes will save you time and money, says Steve Evans, president of Turf Unlimited in Westford, Massachusetts. He swears by remotes and uses them with all of his 1,700 customers.

Evans adds, “Reducing my labor costs has made my start-up bids more competitive.” Most importantly, his techs can now make 10 to 11 calls per day whereas they used to average just eight.

Photo courtesy: Rain Bird

“Remote controls afford the customer the ability to easily operate their controllers throughout the site without having to actually stand in front of the controller to turn it on and off,” says Jeff Kremicki, project manager for controllers at Hunter Industries. “This eliminates the need to walk back and forth to the controller to start or stop a cycle during irrigation or maintenance.”

But it’s not only the contractor who will save time and money, the homeowner will also benefit. And it is their ease of operation, and affordability that are making them such a hot item and such an easy sell.

In a world where gadgets and technology continually dominate our lives, the novelty of a remote controlled irrigation system may be what first piques the interest of a residential client, but it’s the convenience that will have him hooked.

For your existing clients, remote devices can be offered as a system upgrade. And by offering remote controlled devices to your residential clients, you will set yourself apart from the legions of companies that have yet to jump on the bandwagon. And once a unit is installed on one property, it won’t be long before other homeowners in the neighborhood will be contacting you, wanting to know how they too, can have one. You will create new revenue from your existing clients, and additional revenue from new clients.

Although remote units have been available for many years; they’re far from commonplace, especially in the residential market. Take, for example, the case of Dr. Sorrell Glover, a noted California pathologist, who occupies a fire-prone hillside home in the upscale community of Calabasas, California.

An otherwise well-informed technophile with wireless, remote-controlled computers and televisions throughout his home, Glover was surprised to learn recently that he could have remote access to his extensive drip irrigation system that covers his share of a mountaintop.

Amazed, Glover said, “You mean I don’t have to walk back and forth from each outlet to the controller to make adjustments?”

No, he doesn’t, and neither do you! In addition to providing a potential increase in revenue with same amount of resources, wireless remotes are great tools allowing you to access irrigation systems quickly and efficiently, working smarter, not harder.