ATLANTA – Every single year in America, undetected water leaks cost building owners millions of gallons of lost water and millions more in related costs. To help building owners, managers and engineers detect water spikes related to potential catastrophic leaks, WaterSignal introduces the first wireless system that continuously monitors water usage in real time.
"While many engineers and managers routinely review how much electricity their buildings use, most don’t monitor water until they get their water bill," states Scott Kale, vice president, WaterSignal. "If an undetected leak were to occur after the read and go unnoticed until the next bill 30 to 60 days later, thousands of gallons of water – and cost – could be lost simply because no one knew it was happening."
It doesn’t have to be that way.
Utilizing breakthrough technology, a self-contained, non-intrusive monitor listens to the pulse of the water meter, and real time data is sent wirelessly to a website portal to view the properties water consumption by the month, day or even down to the hour.
And if a major leak occurs, much like an energy surge popping a circuit breaker, the device alerts the manager or engineer that a water spike above the preset limit has occurred. The alert can be sent to both a computer and a smartphone for the manager to act upon, and can be customized for business hours as well as after hours and weekends.
"If a building has multiple water meters, such as one for the cooling tower and another for the main line,” states Kale, “the manager can quickly determine which meter spiked in order to isolate the problem fast."
While the WaterSignal monitoring system can help reduce the catastrophic costs associated with undetected leaks, the data the system collects plays a vital role in the building manager’s water conservation efforts. According to Kale, the system can help reduce a building’s water bill by 14 percent on average.
"You can’t manage what you can’t measure," says John Lie-Nielsen, president, WaterSignal. "With the data we collect, we can pinpoint if an irrigation system is excessive, if it runs during a rain storm because of faulty sensors, or if buildings are using water on days no one is there."
With this data, the building manager can replace faulty equipment, install water efficient fixtures and create proper guidelines for irrigating the property.
"We ask people, 'How can water put $25,000 or more back into your budget?'" says Lie-Nielsen. "Through a quick analysis of how much water they use before WaterSignal and how much they’ll save afterwards, the question is quickly answered."
WaterSignal has thoroughly tested the monitoring device for over four years in multi-housing complexes, commercial office buildings and school systems.
About WaterSignal
WaterSignal is a green technology company focused on water conservation. WaterSignal measures water flows in real-time to detect leaks and monitor irrigation systems and cooling towers for commercial, multifamily, medical and educational properties. WaterSignal is located in Alpharetta, GA with operations in ten states. Visit www.watersignal.com, call 877-704-0890 or follow on Twitter@WaterSignal.