Know Your Flow: Locating Wasted Water

Month after month, they show up on your reports: exceedingly high water and sewer bills.

If you’re a property manager or building owner, then you know these bills are usually crushing your bottom line or shocking you at month-end. On one hand, you know that relatively high utility bills in commercial, educational, industrial, and other large-scale buildings are just part of the cost of doing business. Yet, you also know deep down that there has to be a way to reduce the usage and waste, but you have no idea how or where to start.

Then there’s another scenario, where these bills seem like the norm. Perhaps usage has always been at this rate, so the bills don’t seem high at all, they just seem consistent. And just for the sake of argument, maybe they are the norm; how would you know otherwise?

This is where a Building Management System, or BMS, typically enters the conversation. The water management component within a traditional BMS consists of a series of internal probe sensors in the water system that are wired to controls to report information about the water systems in your buildings. These sensors are usually installed in strategic locations throughout the building to monitor flow, temperature, or leaks.

So, What’s the Problem?

Plain and simple, it comes down to cost and convenience. Between upfront hardware costs, plumbing, electrical, and mechanical contractor fees, building shutdowns, and annoyed tenants, a typical BMS setup is often a costly, inefficient headache. The return on investment is too small, and much too far down the road.

Most BMS configurations rely on outdated sensors that are installed in the piping system to capture flow or temperature, which means hiring a licensed plumber or mechanical contractor for the installation. Then, they’ll need to be wired, which leads to electrician’s fees. And, since these sensors are cut into the piping system, each sensor probe that’s installed now becomes another potential leak point.

All of this work also means your building’s water system is going to be shut down for a considerable amount of time, so you can probably expect some less-than-pleasant calls from residents or tenants until its done.

Know Your Flow with Evolution

There is a way to avoid the fees, headaches, and shutdowns and get real-time and historical water system info delivered directly to you and your team, 24/7, for a fraction of the cost of traditional building management systems.

Evolution from Symmons® is a non-invasive, wireless building management system that you can self-install without cutting pipes or running electrical wiring. With Evolution’s Flow Sensors, you’ll be able to see exactly when and where water is flowing through piping, so you can pinpoint areas of wasted water. Evolution is scalable, so you can install as few or as many as needed to locate problem areas.

And with Evolution’s Utility Meter Sensors, you’ll get your true water usage data—in cubic feet or gallons per minute—to compare to your actual usage to your utility bill. Evolution’s Meter Sensors simply strap onto single or compound meters, and give you powerful, accurate data for those tense times when discrepancies such as faulty meters, incorrect readings, or estimated bills are not in your favor.

Monitoring and Alerts, Anywhere, Anytime

Evolution monitors your building’s water systems 24/7 and shows minute-by-minute data on its app and dashboard that can show otherwise unseen usage, such as unexpected wasted water during off-hours or intermittent flow that may point to faulty equipment.

With real-time, tracked data, you can forecast the monthly water bill amount and synchronize it with your utility company invoicing schedule, so you know where you stand before you even get the bill. Evolution lays it all out on a timeline that clearly shows spikes and dips in system flow, right in the palm of your hand on the Evolution app.

Flow, Metering, Temperature, and Leaks

Evolution’s sensor capabilities run far beyond flow and metering; there’s also sensors for temperature, humidity, and leak detection. If you need to “Know Your Flow” and you’re interested in learning more about everything Evolution can deliver to your team, visit the Evolution homepage at Evolution by Symmons.