Rod Nelson, president and owner of Spokane Valley-based Nelson Brothers Inc., has developed a conceptual prototype for a sprinkler system he says can conserve water by being programmed from an app downloaded to a smartphone or tablet.

“The potential is there to save 30 to 50 percent on a residential water bill,” says Nelson.

Nelson, 55, finally developed a working prototype last month from a patent he obtained in 2010 for what he calls the Area Programmable Sprinkler (APS). He now is stepping up his marketing effort to find a potential buyer for his patent.

He holds two patents in the U.S. related to the APS, another in Europe, and one in Australia, Nelson says.

He declines to reveal the names of the local, electrical, and design companies that have helped him develop his prototype, but says he’s invested at least $100,000 in the project since obtaining his patent.

Nelson is no stranger to coming up with new creations. He founded Nelson Brothers Inc. 25 years ago with his brother, David Nelson. The company specializes in creating cabinetry and custom display fixtures for grocery stores around the U.S. Rod Nelson bought out his brother’s interest in the company 15 years ago, though David Nelson continues to work there.

Nelson Brothers is based in the Spokane Business & Industrial Park at 3808 N. Sullivan. Spokane-area grocery stores were among its first customers, Nelson says.

“We started creating shelves and cabinets using different shapes and materials than what most stores were using,” he says.

He says the business expanded when representatives of national food outlets, such as Frito Lay Inc.—now a Nelson Brothers customer—saw Nelson’s cabinets in Spokane-area grocery stores.

Nelson declines to reveal the company’s annual revenues.

Unrelated to Nelson Brothers, Nelson also owns Larone Solutions LLC, a company that holds the patents on the APS and manufactures another Nelson creation, called E-Z Parking Pad, designed to keep garage floors clear and dry while protecting them from road salts and deicers.

Though his father’s primary career was as a railroad engineer, he spent a lot of his spare time fixing things that were broken or trying to make them better.

“I’m the same way,” Nelson says. “Even as a kid, I was doing goofy things; well, maybe goofy isn’t the right word. I’d do things different. I’d make my kites in different shapes, or I’d try to make them different in order to fly higher. I’ve really never stopped.”

The idea for the E-Z Parking Pad started in 2008, and by 2009 Larone Solutions began slowly manufacturing the garage floor covers.

“I used to smoke,” Nelson says. “It was the winter of 2008, and I’m in the garage having a cigarette, and I realized I was standing in an inch to an inch and a half of muddy water that was melt-off from snow and ice on me and my wife’s car. We live on a dirt road, and you could see how the debris was starting to eat through the garage floor.”

Nelson says he just wanted something to cover his garage floor and wasn’t looking for another business opportunity.

After some initial concepts proved unsuccessful, Nelson came up with a design using a pad made of waterproof vinyl and polyester that can be laid on the garage floor and parked on by vehicles of varying sizes.

“To our surprise, the idea just took off,” says Nelson. “We’re not making millions, but we’re well into the thousands,” he says with a laugh. “I’ve been amazed at how meticulous some people are about keeping their garages immaculate.”

Nelson says Larone Solutions now is custom designing 80 to 90 different shapes for residential and commercial garages.

He’s hopeful the APS can exceed the level of success the E-Z Parking Pad has experienced.

Nelson thinks it can be developed for a full, underground residential and commercial system, or as a single sprinkler head that could be connected to a hose. 

The idea, says Nelson, is for users to have more efficient control of the direction and amount of water used for landscaping.

In the case of an APS, Nelson says, “Each sprinkler head can be individually programmed and powered,” which he claims eliminates the need for a valve box, resulting in energy savings.

From a downloadable Android or iOS app, a user can more specifically direct water spray—and the amount of water pressure. With each sprinkler head outfitted with Bluetooth technology, a user can pair their smartphone or tablet to connect to the head and design the shape of the spray needed, he says.

“With today’s technology, why do we continue to water sidewalks, streets, fences and the sides of buildings?” Nelson says.

“One of my goals has always been to create a sprinkler system that didn’t do that,” says Nelson, adding that he first gave serious thought to more water-efficient sprinklers and sprinkler systems 20 years ago.

Nelson, a 30-year Spokane resident, says he spent much of his childhood floating along the Sacramento River in his hometown of Sacramento, Calif. Later, he avidly surfed the Pacific Ocean as a young man living in San Diego.

“There’s just something inside of me that respects water and just doesn’t like to see it wasted,” Nelson says.

With an operational prototype now in hand, Nelson is more actively promoting the programmable sprinkler around Spokane. Nelson’s area programmable sprinkler last month was profiled for a local story on a Spokane-based TV news station.

His goal is to see his idea purchased and the products manufactured in the Spokane area.