How smart water meters find leaks
South Africa’s ongoing water shortages and increasing utility costs have homeowners looking for ways to reduce water consumption and cut out wastage on their properties.
Water leaks are problematic for every homeowner. While we can keep an eye on dripping taps and change the washers, many water leaks can go undetected.
Petrus Van Heerden, Kamstrup’s regional manager for Africa, says that undetected leaks are problems that often only show themselves on a household’s monthly water bill.
“It can be hard for homeowners to identify whether a larger water bill is due to increased consumption in the home, municipal adjustments to the estimated water usage following a meter reading, or a leak. But if it is a leak, then we know the pipe or seal is only going to degrade more, resulting in higher water losses and rising monthly costs,” he explains.
By the time a typical homeowner calls in a specialist leak detection service to survey the property, thousands of Rands in water have already gone down the drain, or worse, leaked into your ceiling, inside your walls or into the ground.
But is it possible to identify a water leak without calling in an expensive specialist to do a survey? Absolutely, says Van Heerden.
“Advances in Smart technology has enabled us to produce Smart water meters that not only enable you to monitor and manage your water consumption, but also alert you to water consumption anomalies that point to a leak on the property.”
This is achieved through the system’s real-time monitoring of water consumption, says Van Heerden.
“Every home has a few hours, where water is not being used because the family is asleep or are not at home. During these hours, water consumption should sit at 0 litres per hour. However, if water is being used constantly over a 24-hour period, that is a sign of a leak and our partner smartphone app creates an alert and notifies the homeowner.”
Not only does the Smart water meter app provide an early warning of the leak, but it also shows how much water is being lost and homeowners can monitor how this increases over time.
As for identifying where the leak is within your home, the easiest way is to work through the process of elimination. Starting with a bathroom, make sure all taps are closed properly and, where possible, cut off the water flow at the stopcock at the wall. Don’t forget the toilet, as this is often a site of hidden leaks. Once you have checked your bathrooms, move on to your kitchen and then your outdoor taps, water fixtures and pool.
If you still can’t identify where the leak is, it’s time to call in that specialist to survey your walls and grounds.
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