The Leak Defense System continuously monitors your properties for hidden leaks and automatically shuts off the water and alerts you if one is detected. Easily control the water flow using the on-site control panel or access it on the go with the mobile app. With multiple ways to monitor, you’ll always feel protected against potential Read more
Water Leaks
The Leak Defense System continuously monitors your properties for hidden leaks and automatically shuts off the water and alerts you if one is detected. Easily control the water flow using the on-site control panel or access it on the go with the mobile app.
With multiple ways to monitor, you’ll always feel protected against potential loss, expense and hassle from water damage. Our full line of accessories allows Leak Defense to work with any type of residential or commercial plumbing system.
The Leak Defense System:
- Installs easily with your existing plumbing
- Monitors your flow with the most sensitive detection technology available
- Alerts you immediately if potential flood conditions are detected and shuts off the water supply
- Can stop water flow in a specific zone, or to your entire building until you can assess the situation, stopping damage in its tracks.
- Is fully customized to fit your unique plumbing system. Point of leak detectors (POLDs) can be added for an additional layer of protection in places with a high risk for flooding.
To learn more, visit LeakDefense.com/products.
By: Jason Abajian, North America Water Sales Manager at Resideo Many people have water-leak stories, now there is a solution Winter arrived a bit earlier than usual here in the Upper Midwest, and the moment I saw the projected cold snap, my mind immediately went to the maintenance involved in preparing my home for a long Read more
By: Jason Abajian, North America Water Sales Manager at Resideo
Many people have water-leak stories, now there is a solution
Winter arrived a bit earlier than usual here in the Upper Midwest, and the moment I saw the projected cold snap, my mind immediately went to the maintenance involved in preparing my home for a long winter in Traverse City, Mich., where our average snowfall is between 125 inches and 145 inches each year.
Questions like, ‘did I blow out my sprinkler lines so the water doesn’t freeze and crack the copper pipes and sprinkler heads?’ Or ‘is my boiler tuned up and ready for another heating season? I hate to leave my home unprotected.’ It’s my family’s sanctuary and a massive financial investment.
The force that can carve out the Grand Canyon can also carve out massive damage to your home. How can we protect our homes from this great force of nature? Knowledge and preparation are critical.
Water Leaks are on the Rise
Water makes up most of the human body and our earth, it’s more important than food to sustain life, and yet it is the largest menace for home insurance claims. Each year, about one in 60 homeowners files a water damage claim, accounting for 20% of all homeowner insurance claims.
I have inflated this statistic by having dealt with two water damage insurance claims myself. My first claim occurred in 2008. Four days after renting out our home after we struggled to sell it, the renter left a bathtub faucet running upstairs while they were at work and the loft next to the bathroom imploded into the living room below. If that was not bad enough, several years ago my friend’s four-year-old daughter flushed a towel down my current basement toilet and the towel then wrapped around my sewage sump pump and clogged it while the toilet continued to run. I came home late that night to 3 inches of water in the basement. The worst/best part happened when my plumber was replacing my sump pump. He offered me a water leak detector, so I’d be alerted if something like that happened again. The irony was that I already had a sample sitting in a box soaking wet – unused!
Beyond personal residences, think how vital water leak prevention devices can be in multi-family dwellings like condos and town homes, home rentals and even new construction. For example, if you were living in a condo and the property above yours had a pipe burst while your neighbor was away. Your neighbor’s nightmare is now yours, and the property below you and the building management company. Now the home insurance claim isn’t limited to your condo alone.
The same goes for any unoccupied home. Home rentals are notorious for large water damage claims due to faucets and fixtures being left open to run. I know from personal experience. Knowing your water supply line is protected, similar to a connected thermostat communicating your property is properly heating and cooling, is worth the price!
Stopping Water at the Source
The good news is that 93% of water leaks can be prevented. Utilizing well-placed water leak detectors that are connected to a water shutoff valve can help prevent catastrophic water damage. In 2021, Resideo Water Leak and Freeze detectors helped save 3 million gallons of water and helped prevent an estimated $1.9 million in insurance claims.
Today, I use Resideo’s new Braukmann L5 WiFi Water Shutoff Valve on my home’s water main and simply shutoff the water flow into my entire home while I travel via the Resideo app. I can also pair Resideo’s WiFi Water Leak & Freeze Detectors in high-risk places and use the actuator’s water sensor cable plugged directly into it – if any part of the cable gets wet, it will close off the actuator stopping water from entering our home. The water cables can be daisy chained up to 500 ft to protect a complete mechanical room. Pipes can leak and burst anywhere throughout the home, especially during the change of seasons, and this product offers me personal peace of mind.
Here are a few additional scenarios that could warrant a water management system and/or leak detection device:
- Air handler in the attic. Using water leak detection devices in or around a condensation pan would be a good idea so as to identify any water damage threat in an unconditioned space.
- Dehumidifier in a crawl space. The average dehumidifier captures 30-70 pints of water per day and this moisture needs to go somewhere. A water leak detector delivers peace of mind when the unit is out of sight.
- Laundry on the second floor. Water damage from a second story can heavily increase the liability of a water damage claims above one’s insurance deductible. A water leak detector will quickly alert you to an issue.
- Tankless water heater installed. If a homeowner has one of these, it’s likely they are resource conscious and may be more interested in reducing the amount of water lost to leaks.
- Sump pump pit. These devices are critical for providing protection to one’s home from ground water. Knowing there is a problem allows you to act before three inches of water fills the entire basement.
- Recent leak damage. Just as my plumber offered me when I had a water damage to my basement – there is no better time to offer water protection than after a customer has felt the sting of a water insurance claim.
What is peace of mind worth to you and your customers? The cost of water is rising like other utilities and so are monthly insurance premiums. Knowing that I do not need to worry about a pipe burst destroying my home and savings account while I visit the in-laws this Christmas will save some of my sanity, and you can’t put a price on that.
With more and more homeowners looking to smart technologies to automate their homes, people can now automate almost anything — lights, garage doors, windows, blinds, appliances, clocks, speakers, door bells, surveillance cameras, home security systems, climate control systems, cleaning systems, sprinkler systems, lawnmowers — even food preparation. So, what about their plumbing systems? If you Read more
With more and more homeowners looking to smart technologies to automate their homes, people can now automate almost anything — lights, garage doors, windows, blinds, appliances, clocks, speakers, door bells, surveillance cameras, home security systems, climate control systems, cleaning systems, sprinkler systems, lawnmowers — even food preparation.
Phyn Plus installed with Pro Squad installer
So, what about their plumbing systems? If you think about it, homeowners would love to be connected to their plumbing systems. What if a pipe bursts when they’re away? Or, there’s a tiny leak that’s been quietly wasting water (and money) for months (think: toilet flappers, dripping faucets or pinhole leaks in corroded metal plumbing systems). For those that only get their water bill on a quarterly basis, that little leak could add up to quite a big cost over time (not to mention a tragic waste of water, our precious natural resource).
And, it doesn’t necessarily have to be a leak. There are those forgetful homeowners (or their children) who leave a faucet running and leave the house with the water going continuously. I’ve even heard of pets (typically cats) that accidentally turn on faucets and leave them running for hours until the homeowner returns to find little Fluffy has just wasted hundreds of dollars down the drain. Certain smart water detection systems can even alert homeowners of abnormal water events such as these.
Water leaks and water misuse are real, and every homeowner has experienced a water incident at one time or another. If you’re still not convinced, here are some interesting stats that might make you think differently.
- According to the Insurance Information Institute, water damage accounts for almost half of all property damage claims.
- About one in 50 insured homes has a property damage claim caused by water damage or freezing each year, and water damage ranks as the second most common home insurance claim.
- Of homeowners who have experienced a water leak claim in the past two years, 57% spent more than $5,000 on clean-up costs, and 15% spent $20,000 or more.
- 41% of homeowners say a device that alerts them to water leaks is highly
If you haven’t thought about it, now’s the time. Intelligent water is the next frontier in the connected home, and plumbers can benefit greatly from this new technology. Adding a smart water technology offering to your plumbing business is a great way to gain new business and offer a valuable new benefit to existing customers.
How do you get started? First, you need to do your research. Certain manufacturers now offer smart water systems that are designed specifically with the professional plumber in mind. The Phyn Plus smart water assistant + shutoff, for example, is a connected plumbing device that is installed by a plumber in the Pro Squad nationwide network.
It’s helpful if you’re familiar with the internet and have some tech savvy in your background. But, for products that are installed through a professional, exclusive network, you can get the training you need right from the manufacturer. All that’s required from you is a willingness to learn.
Think about it. Homeowners are craving new ways to get connected to the things in their homes, and they are willing to pay for it. They will pay you for it! Plus, when there is a leak detected in their home, guess who they’ll call?
These smart water technology systems are a wonderful revenue generator for anyone in the plumbing industry — from the established contractor to someone just breaking into the industry. They can apply to any type of application from new construction to remodels to re-pipes. Essentially anywhere there’s residential plumbing, these systems will work.
And think about how great it would be to have your customers calling you straight from their connected device’s app whenever they need service due to a leak. It takes the guesswork out of the equation for homeowners regarding the best professional to call for the job, and it ensures a faithful client base for you. Win-win.
So, if you’re ready to up the ante in your business to offer a smart water leak detection system, think about all the positives it can offer and how easy it can be to get trained and up and running on a technology that is going to be in demand in the very near future.
You could be one of the first in your area to offer it, opening doors to customers you might never have the opportunity to encounter otherwise.
Kim Bliss is the content development manager at Uponor. She can be reached at kim.bliss@uponor.com.