There is a common assumption that to run your sprinklers from your phone, you have to rip out the system you have and start fresh. That is the expensive route, and for most properties it is simply not necessary. You can make an existing sprinkler system remote controlled without trenching, without rewiring the yard, and without throwing out valves that work perfectly well.
So let us be clear about what remote control really means for irrigation, and the practical way to add it to a system that is already in the ground.
What “remote-controlled irrigation” really means
A remote controlled sprinkler system, sometimes just called a remote irrigation system, is one you operate from a distance, usually through an app, instead of standing at a timer bolted to the garage wall. At minimum that means starting and stopping watering and changing the schedule from wherever you happen to be. A good setup goes further: fire a single zone to test a repair, skip a cycle when the forecast turns, and confirm that everything ran the way it was supposed to.
The value clicks the first time you use it. A sprinkler head snaps off and starts flooding the sidewalk, and you shut that zone down from your phone instead of sprinting for the garage. You run a zone while standing over it, hunting for the leak. A heat wave rolls in and you adjust watering without driving home. For a crew running several properties, that distance turns a cross town drive into a tap on a screen.
The hard way versus the retrofit way
Two paths get you there, and they are not close in cost or hassle.
The hard way is to replace everything: new controller, new valves, and usually new wire runs out to each valve box. This is what most people picture when they imagine upgrading their sprinklers, and it is exactly why they keep putting it off. It is pricey, it tears up an established yard, and most of what ends up in the dumpster was working fine.
The retrofit way keeps the valves you already have and changes how the signal reaches them. Instead of pulling new buried wire from a controller to every valve, you add a wireless link at the valve itself. The valve keeps doing its job. You just stop running wire to talk to it.
For most homeowners and property managers, the math is not subtle. The retrofit costs less, installs faster, and skips the trenching across a landscape you have spent years getting right. If you want the valve side of that on its own, see our guide to smart sprinkler valves.
How a wireless valve link puts your existing valves on your phone
The piece that makes a retrofit possible is the wireless valve link. The Thrive EVO is a wireless valve system that operates your existing irrigation valves without control wire running back to the controller.
A few details are what make it hold up on real retrofits:
- It is controller agnostic. The EVO works with any standard 24VAC irrigation controller, so you are not boxed into one brand or forced to scrap the controller you already own.
- It carries across the property. The wireless link is rated for roughly 200 yards of range, which covers the distances where buried wire tends to fail or would be a headache to run.
- It handles more than one valve. Each EVO device supports up to four stations, so you are not bolting hardware onto every valve in the yard.
- It is built for the valve box. The system runs on DC latching solenoids, the type made for battery efficient, wireless valve operation.
The whole idea is to bridge the gap between controller and valve with a signal instead of a trench. If you want to weigh this against replacing the controller outright, the wireless irrigation controller without WiFi page sets the two approaches side by side.
Do you need new wiring or trenching?
Almost never, and that is the entire point. Because the link to the valve is wireless, you skip the most disruptive and most expensive part of any irrigation upgrade, which is opening up a finished yard to pull new wire.
You keep your valves. You keep a standard controller. You add the wireless link so the two can talk without buried wire between them. For a system that is already installed and mechanically sound, that is usually all it takes to drag it into the phone era.
Frequently asked questions
Can I make my existing sprinkler system remote-controlled without replacing it? Yes. Adding a wireless valve link such as the Thrive EVO to your existing valves lets you operate the system without running new control wire, and without replacing valves that already work.
Do I have to dig trenches to add remote control? Usually not. The wireless link removes the need to run buried wire between the controller and the valves, which is the part that normally calls for trenching.
Will it work with my current controller? The Thrive EVO is controller agnostic and works with any standard 24VAC irrigation controller, so there is no need to switch brands or replace what you have.
How far can the wireless signal reach? The EVO wireless link is rated for roughly 200 yards of range, which covers most residential and many commercial valve layouts.
Is a remote control irrigation system the same as a smart controller? They overlap but are not identical. A remote control irrigation system lets you operate your valves from a distance. A smart controller adds weather aware scheduling on top of that remote control. A wireless valve link like the Thrive EVO gives you the remote control piece on the valves you already have.
Where to start
Remote control for your sprinklers does not require a teardown. For most properties the smart move is the retrofit: keep the valves and controller you already have, and add a wireless valve link so you can run the whole thing from your phone. See how it works on the Thrive EVO page, or find a distributor near you on the where to buy page.
Want to put your existing valves on your phone without trenching?
See the Thrive EVO