IRRIGATION: TechnoSoaking

As the green industry has matured and as more young contractors have entered the industry, the use of technology in irrigation companies and the lawn and landscape market in general has increased. In addition to company Web sites, contractors are benefiting from technology in the forms of cell phones and two-way communication devices; computer programs for everything from routing to billing; global positioning technology; and more. This is good news for software manufacturers who see the industry becoming more tech savvy.

“There are younger contractors entering the business every day,” notes John DeCell, president of Software Republic, Houston, Texas. “Many of these contractors grew up using computers and expect to have some sort of technology to assist them in business. We’re also seeing an increase in computer literacy among contractors’ existing and prospective customers that use computers in their own line of work and have come to expect the use of technology in other industries as well.”

Steven Moore agrees. “There’s a rising generation of business owners and consumers who are more computer savvy, so the demand for a high-tech approach is growing,” says the president and general manager of Irrisoft, North Logan, Utah. “In terms of irrigation in particular, there’s a demand from the marketplace for improved water management, and business owners in the industry today aren’t afraid to use computers to achieve that goal.”

For a round-up of irrigation software solutions, Lawn & Landscape spoke with several manufacturers of software programs and Web-based tools designed to provide speed and accuracy at every phase of a job, and also offer a level of professionalism that gives an upper hand in sales and a boost to contractors’ bottom lines.

DIGITAL DESIGNING. First up in most projects is design software that allows irrigation contractors to accurately create irrigation plans in a matter of minutes for almost any property.

“Design software gives the irrigation contractor the ability to generate an irrigation plan by computer very quickly and then have documentation ready right away to hand to the workers,” explains Art Tedeschi, owner and chief designer of Denver, Colo.-based Science Hill, manufacturer of WaterMark PRO irrigation design software. “You’re also able to provide the homeowner with a drawing of their property with the sprinkler heads all laid out and the spacing and water requirements calculated for you. It takes all the guesswork out of it.”

Contrary to popular belief, there are a number of standalone programs geared toward light commercial and residential irrigation design that don’t require expensive construction software to run. RainCAD, WaterMark PRO and Fastquote (manufactured by Walla Walla, Wash.-based MP Rotator) are among these standalone programs and all three operate similarly.

After measuring a potential client’s property, an irrigation contractor can use a design program to sketch out the client’s yard and a footprint of the residence or building on the property. (Some programs also provide the option of importing a basic layout from another file.) From there, the contractor uses tools in the software to identify the water source for the site, specify hydrozones if necessary, and can then have the software itself populate the area with rotors, sprayheads, pipe, etc. Each design program includes a database of parts and pieces from a number of irrigation product manufacturers, which users can customize based on their preferred products and suppliers.

With a preliminary design laid out, most software programs will then run a virtual test on the system to ensure the hydraulics were calculated properly for uniformity in the system. If the test goes well, the contractor can quickly generate a printout of the design, along with a list of materials – including all fittings – that will be needed to install the system, providing both the customer and the crew with an on-the-ball estimate of the scope and cost of the project.

“These programs’ greatest strengths are the ability to do good designs and generate materials lists,” says Steve McCoon, software support specialist for MP Rotator. “Those things matter to both the consumer and the contractor because you want to be designing irrigation systems that have high uniformity and you want to be able to install them with great efficiency. When you print these reports that can be customized with your company logo and have the customer’s name in big letters, it puts a spotlight on the specifics of their design and it makes the contractor look very professional.”

This extra boost of professionalism comes with a relatively low price tag. Most irrigation design programs cost between $499 and $1,300 and include the software, program upgrades as necessary and technical support during the life of the product. Some programs offer trial periods before a purchase is necessary and manufacturers say the cost of a program can quickly be recouped.

“From our past research, we know that a computer design is worth several hundred to a few thousand dollars per residential installation,” DeCell says. “Our past research indicates that by including a computer design as part of their marketing materials, contractors were able to increase their business by 55 percent and increase their average price per residential installation by 16.7 percent.”

McCoon adds that because it only takes 30 minutes to an hour to design an irrigation system using a software program, contractors can generate more proposals in less time. “We know of companies that have been able to create as many as 12 irrigation designs a day, which is more than most companies will need to do, but the point is that the more proficient you become, the more proposals you can send out and the more sales you can close,” he says.

IRRIGATION CALCULATIONS. With a design in hand, irrigation contractors also have tech tools at their disposal to ensure that water flows through those systems properly, thereby establishing contractors as professional water managers.

“Water management software is a valuable tool for irrigation contractors that lets them simplify the process of calculating irrigation schedules,” says Moore, whose company developed InSite Irrigation Scheduling software. While the program and others like it cannot currently program irrigation controllers automatically, their technology simplifies the necessary calculations. “Contractors that need to make these calculations have to gather information about the landscape water needs, the performance of the system and then combine that to create the actual schedule to program, into the controller,” Moore says, creating an efficient and functional watering schedule.

Guesswork often leads to water-wasting irrigation systems and needs to be eliminated, DeCell says. “Some contractors set a customer’s controller for a worst-case scenario watering situation and then it either stays there all year long or is only adjusted once a year for a big change of season,” he says. “In reality, adjusting irrigation controllers on a monthly or quarterly basis can actually be an add-on service that contractors can sell and available software makes that an even more viable option.”

InSite and Irricalc (manufactured by Software Republic) give contractors the simplicity of entering a few pieces of information about the irrigation system and the site, and then calculate an appropriate watering schedule instantly. By selecting details like plant type, soil conditions, slope and the irrigation system’s and controller’s capabilities, the software can generate accurate start and run times. Precipitation rate, soil infiltration rate, soil moisture holding capacity and other characteristics also are considered by some programs, and the ability to add evapotranspiration (ET) data can make each schedule even more precise.

Less expensive than design software, water management programs can quickly pay for themselves in water savings, and even more so if contractors take DeCell’s advice and offer clients system adjustments on a regular basis. Programs like Irricalc cost as little as $250, while InSite is offered free to irrigation contractors as a tool to educate the industry on the importance of accurate water management. “In order to run an efficient business, it’s all about quick access to good information,” Moore says. “Whether it’s calculating an irrigation schedule or automating a system with ET data, you want to have an accurate estimate and no mistakes in the math. These programs can help contractors do the math right – to their customers’ benefit – and ultimately be more professional.”

WORLD-WIDE WATERING. The benefits of technology on irrigation management don’t stop after irrigation controllers are programmed. The irrigation software industry steps in again with a high-tech way to reprogram controllers and manage systems – all from the comfort of your own office. Operating on the principles used by traditional central-controlled irrigation systems, some irrigation manufacturers have brought to the marketplace Web-based platforms from which to manage irrigation systems. I-Central from Rain Master, Simi Valley, Calif., and eConstellation from Signature Control Systems, Irvine, Calif., are two such programs.

“Traditional central control irrigation systems generally require an expensive dedicated desktop computer with complicated software that resides in an office somewhere on the site,” says Drew Ferraro, director of sales and marketing for Signature Control Systems. “If you want to make a change to the irrigation schedule, you have to physically touch the dedicated computer in some way.”

Web-based control, however, gives irrigation contractors the ability to wirelessly and remotely access the same controllers from any Internet-accessible computer no matter where the contractor is located. In a basic setup, the controllers on a given site are hard-wired or radio-linked together and a single modem is set up to communicate to the entire system. With a subscription to this type of service, a contractor could log onto the software provider’s Web site, access the modem though his or her online account and control the system remotely. Each central-controlled site requires its own modem, but all the modems for a single contractor’s sites are accessible with one online account. The Web-based platform allows contractors to write new irrigation schedules, perform rain shutdowns, turn individual valves or programs on and off, adjust water budgets and receive reports and alarms from sensors on the system.

“A Web-based central control system as a whole saves contractors money because they don’t have to have people physically onsite, running around and adjusting individual controllers,” says Steve Springer, vice president of business development for Rain Master. “This is a huge labor savings and it also positions the contractor as a professional to the client – they want to have someone who’s water-management savvy managing their system.”

In terms of convenience and labor savings, Web-based programs allow contractors to be advised of potential problems quickly and start the maintenance process off-site, rather than having to make time for crews to continually monitor irrigation systems. Moreover, Ferraro notes that the tools afforded by these programs let contractors access irrigation controllers at any time and under any circumstance. If an unexpected storm rolls in, a rain shutdown can be performed immediately at any time of the day or night, keeping irrigation systems from coming on during the rain event. In other situations when homeowners or property managers are unavailable, the remote access lets contractors tap into controllers that may otherwise be locked in garages or behind gates.

Unlike systems that would require dedicated computers, the online aspect of these programs makes them significantly less expensive. They can also be set up to work with ET data for even more efficient automated watering.

Ferraro says eConstellation’s modems cost around $1,000 depending on the service provider, and the service has one-time setup and programming fees that total around $50 ($30 to set up the Web account and $20 to set up and program each modem). From there, monthly subscriptions start at $25, plus $8 each for each controller that’s hard-wired or radio-linked to the modem, and automated ET subscriptions can be added for just $2 a month. For I-Central, Springer says communications cards are $795 for each site being centrally controlled and the online subscription to access the controllers is as little as $9.95 monthly.

While the total cost of a Web-based central control system will depend on how many sites and controllers a contractor wants to access, Springer says the payoff is fast. “A homebuilder we’ve worked with told us that the water bill for one of their communities was $10,000 a month,” he says. “The easy management and water savings that a Web-based central control system offers could knock 25 percent off that price and if the total cost of their system is $10,000 to $15,000, it could pay for itself in less than a year.”

Ferraro adds that irrigation contractors can actually use Web-based irrigation as a way to leverage their expertise and ultimately charge more for their services.

“On a basic system, you could be paying $25 a month for the service, but reselling the value that the service offers for $100 or $150,” he says. “In the green industry, these kinds of technological advances can make contractors look like heroes and give them the benefit of being a high-tech company. The service saves time and money, so the contractors are still able to provide their customers with healthy turf but without the extra labor and maintenance expenses, which helps their bottom lines.”

Editor’s note: The inclusion or omission of a product or manufacturer in this feature should not be considered an endorsement or criticism of those products by Lawn & Landscape.