WATER DAMAGE Features
Water damage is the number one source of insurance claims from flat owners.
Early water detection and a quick response is not unlike buying insurance. You as a building manager, owner or individual tenant may be lucky for many years. On the other hand, something as simple as a corroded pipe may lead to hefty repair costs if not detected early and promptly corrected. A small investment in the right equipment now can pay for itself many times over in damage prevented.
The Aquilar solution
readily available on the commercial market. Sensor cable works by detecting a puddle of water anywhere along its length and the more sophisticated systems will report the leak location as well. Cable can be used to trace along a pipe or surround a potential source of leakage. Point detectors are useful to monitor individual devices like a dishwasher, or within inaccessible areas such as behind a refrigerator. As with flow monitoring devices, sensor cables typically activate a solenoid isolation valve if water is detected and may also include an audible alarm.
Water leak detection systems using sensing cables or point detectors are most commonly used within large or higher value properties and are typically installed during the construction or refurbishment stage. An alarm panel is at the heart of the system, monitoring the water sensing point detectors or sensing cables positioned under, or adjacent to, any pipes or mechanical plant using water within the apartment.
Once a leak has been detected, the panel will sound an alarm to alert the resident. Relays in the panel can also be linked to the building maintenance team or concierge should the apartment be unoccupied. The panel will indicate the room name or zone number where the leak has been detected. This directs the plumber or maintenance team to the source of the problem. The probes and sensing cables dry within seconds, allowing the system to be reset once the area has been cleaned.
What’s the cost?
Systems can be designed ranging in size from a simple, single point detector and panel for £220 to multi-floor, building-wide, complex digital systems. A flat with about six point detectors, several metres of sensor
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cable and a control panel will cost between £300 and £700. Retrofit is possible, but wiring costs from the various detection points to a central alarm panel may add significantly to the installed cost.
Pre-
wiring during new construction is less costly. Wireless communication to the central panel is an emerging trend, with a new product from Aquilar anticipated shortly.
What are the limitations? Sensor placement is key. If point detectors are used and the leak ‘misses’ the detector, then early notification is lost. Sensing cables and probes will detect the smallest amount of water, however their position is very important and systems must be designed by a specialist. Where a company such as Aquilar is consulted, a detailed design will give residents a range of options to optimize detection:
Multiple rooms can be connected on one system. Separate panels are available for each apartment. Central networked systems are available to cover whole buildings.
Systems can be connected to remote alarm systems for SMS or email alerts or to shut off the water supply.
Sounding the alarm Whenever a leak is detected or an isolation valve is triggered, the building maintenance engineer must be notified. In buildings with Building Management Systems, a simple relay tie-in is sufficient, with the alarm being logged and handled alongside other BMS notifications. In remotely- managed buildings, most water detection systems offer landline dial out, cellular based SMS texting or Wi-Fi connectivity to send alerts to both owners and facility teams.
The AquiTron AT-HW leak detection system is suitable for most types of home, but is especially suitable for multi-level apartment blocks. The system consists of a simple user friendly wall mounted controller which wirelessly communicates to the low voltage valve drive and isolating solenoid valve and simply installed by a plumber. Ideally, each flat would have a system installed, providing peace of mind that any damage caused by a leak would be minimised because the main cold water supply would be shut off. This also provides a comfort factor for other owners on lower levels.
The benefits of the AquiTron Home System include:
An integrated back-up battery which will continue to power the controller and protect the property for many weeks in the event of loss of mains power.
Monitors the continuous flow of water resetting each time the water flow is stopped, for example the user selects the maximum time they wish water to flow before turning off the supply when they are both in and out of the property. These two levels of guard are programmable by the user in order to facilitate individual requirements. The simple to use, language free controller can be located conveniently in the kitchen or utility room wall at eye level The water can be turned on or off, the guard level switched and the maximum allowable flow times set from the simple to use language free controller Automatic guard level switching available when wired to the properties intruder alarm Available for properties from 15mm to 35mm incoming water main.
For system design recommendations suitable for your property contact: Aquilar Ltd, Leak Detection Solutions, 01403 216100
info@aquilar.c.uk www.aquilar.co.uk
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