CE Pro December 2022 - 37

Integrators are well positioned to offer services in water management, such as
usage and leak detection, and water quality via filtration devices. Solutions such
as Flo by Moen, Flume, Phyn Smart Water Assistant from Belkin, and US Water
Defender have differing installation methods, capabilities and connection locations
to give integrators and customers options.
to partner/contract with a
plumber. There are a couple
of flowmeters, such as
Streamlabs (streamlabswater.
com), that employ ultrasonic
measurements, which can
be strapped to the outside
of the water pipe, but they
require precise installation,
specific pipe types and sizes,
and calibration.
Another approach worth
noting is the Phyn Smart
Water Assistant meter from
Belkin (search Phyn at belkin.
com). It installs easily under
the kitchen sink, connects
to the cold-water hose, and
uses sophisticated acoustic
analysis to measure all water
flow in the home (another
variant includes a shutoff
valve and requires installation
in the main pipe).
Most flowmeters can be
installed at the main feed
to measure all water, on
cepro.com
the indoor side to measure
only household water, or on
the irrigation side to only
measure irrigation water.
Installing it at the main is
generally best; however,
if the meter is wired to a
dedicated irrigation controller,
it may be necessary to
exclude household water or
the controller will constantly
show alerts when a valve is
not triggered.
Looking Out for Leaks
One of the most important
reasons to monitor water
flow is that it provides the
best indications of leaks,
whether caused by broken
pipes, a faucet, or a running
toilet. Most leak detection
systems rely on electrical
contacts that trigger on
puddling water; they only
trigger if the water happens
to puddle under a sensor.
Flow monitoring, in contrast,
will detect any water flow
that occurs when no water
should be flowing, or when
there is a tiny but constant
water flow.
Some systems go a step
further and shut the water
main off when a leak is
detected to prevent further
loss and damage. Products
such as Flo, sold by Moen
(meetflo.com), install in the
water pipe, and include a
flow meter, a motorized
shutoff valve, and temperature
and pressure sensors
in a very compact package.
Flo connects to its server via
Wi-Fi, and provides detailed
reports via an app. It offers
an additional feature -
daily pressure testing. At a
user-specified time when
no water should be running,
it shuts off the water for
one minute and monitors
the pressure. If there are no
leaks anywhere, the pressure
should stay constant over
the course of the test. This
provides an extremely sensitive
leak test. It also monitors
for high or low water
pressure, and low temperature
(indicating a possible
freeze alert). Phyn by Belkin
offers a similar product.
Other solutions use
sensors to detect leaks, and
most offer an automatic
shutoff valve as well. These
work well if the home has
specific locations where
leaks are most likely, such as
a sump, old basement, water
heater, etc., but they will not
detect a leak in an unexpected
location, or an internal
leak such as a running toilet.
Many flowmeter systems
use algorithms to attempt
to identify water usage by
device. It's still not a perfect
December 2022 CE Pro | 37
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CE Pro December 2022

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