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Add-on Biz: Misting systems
1 May, 2008 By: Jodi Torpey Landscape ManagementAscouting trip to Phoenix led to a lucrative add-on business for landscaper Scott Kopplinger of Broomfield, CO. While scanning the area for attractive landscape designs, he noticed the large number of misting systems homeowners used to cool their sun-baked backyard patios.
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"As a native Coloradan, I wondered why I wasn't seeing similar systems in Colorado. We're a high desert, and we get 100-degree days here," he says.
Kopplinger, owner of Ironwood Landscape and Design, did some research and discovered a market for professionally installed outdoor misting systems along Colorado's Front Range. In 2002, he started installing these cooling systems under the business name Mr. Mister (
www.mrmisterfog.com).
Misting systems use a process called flash evaporation to produce cooling. Flash evaporation occurs when water is pressurized to 1,000 psi and forced through special nozzles that break water molecules into billions of droplets. When these droplets evaporate, the surrounding air temperature drops by as much as 30 degrees.
Getting started
Kopplinger said it was easy to add misting systems to his landscape business because there was no initial investment or up front cost. After attending a half-day training session at Fogco Systems' (manufacturer of the system he uses) Phoenix headquarters, he was ready to start installing systems.
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"It's a snap together system," he says. "There is some electrical work for the pump and some general plumbing work. It's similar to installing an irrigation system. Installers can buy the parts wholesale and sell them retail, usually at a 30% to 50% markup."
Kopplinger said large residential misting systems need only 10 to 20 nozzles and use less than one-half gallon of water per hour, per nozzle. That's not much water compared to the six gallons used each minute during the average shower. He was so pleased with the Fogco System (
www.fogco.com
) that he became the wholesale dealer for the Rocky Mountain region. Now he's getting more calls for the misting system than he is for the landscaping side of his business.
"There are endless ways to use a system," he says. In addition to cooling, misting systems repel flying insects and help reduce pollen, dust, smoke and other airborne pollutants. Systems installed in a greenhouse help ensure humidity levels. Misting systems also are an effective method for controlling unpleasant odors.
Other markets
While cooling is the ideal use for misting systems, Kopplinger said "mistscaping" is increasing popular. Any backyard can be turned into a foggy tropical rain forest by strategically placing nozzles throughout the landscape.
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"When fog is added near a water feature or swimming pool it creates a dramatic visual effect, especially when combined with a lighting system," he says.
One challenge to promoting misting systems is educating customers on the low amount of water the system uses. Timers also can be used to conserve water.
"Water use really depends on the number of heads," he says. Even for a large misting system, there's no more than 15 gallons of water used per hour."
Kopplinger knows all about setting up large systems. Last summer he installed a misting system to cool the grandstands at the Cheyenne Frontier Days rodeo. The stadium was the first in the country to be misted, and it required 360 heads and three pumps. Now that's really cool.
— Jodi Torpey is a Denver-based freelance writer. Contact her at
info@landscapemanagement.net.
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