Why Water Intelligence Must Be Part of Building Water Management

November 23, 2022

Toy plastic blocks with water intelligence icons on the front are stacked to look like steps

Managing water at commercial, industrial or residential buildings is typically a manual process that involves onsite inspections, reports from building occupants and fixing problems after the water costs have been incurred. Water intelligence is a way for organizations to pre-empt unexpected operational costs associated with water which is why it is fundamental to an effective building water management strategy.

What is water intelligence

Water intelligence is the automated analysis of water data to detect abnormalities such as leaks and inefficiencies from industrial processes, plumbing fixtures, or commercial appliances. Compared to manual water management methods which rely on aggregated metrics such as water bills, automated water intelligence provides minute-by-minute water flow data and instant alerts leading to faster leak resolution and greater water savings.

A water usage timeline tracks all water flow data for a building and artificial intelligence identifies when problems such as leaks or abnormal use arise. Users receive alerts on their phones to take action and reduce operational costs.

How does it work

Smart water sensors are installed throughout buildings on water meters and in locations where the risk of water damage is greatest. The sensors send their data via the Internet to a water intelligence platform.

Water flow analysis

Powered by machine learning, the water intelligence platform creates a unique water consumption profile for the building. Whenever water use deviates from the profile, the platform sends push notifications or makes automated phone calls to end users such as facility management teams, sustainability directors or maintenance staff.

Water damage prevention

Water intelligence encompasses not only water flow analysis but the detection of potential water damage causing events. The presence of water on the floor, low temperatures that cause pipes to freeze and burst as well as humidity irregularities leading to mold growth and property damage are also detected as part of water intelligence. Response time to catastrophic events or smaller events can be reduced from months to mere minutes with real-time alerts.

The water intelligence platform tracks each event including start time, stop time, location and user input such as expected cost and severity of the event.

Automatic record of water events

Based on frequency data from the AlertAQ™ water intelligence platform, the most common sources of water damage and water use inefficiencies are caused by the following components of the water system within residential, commercial, industrial, and institutional buildings:

Cooling towers
Trap primer valves
Sinks
Toilets
Urinals
Washing machines
Hot water tanks
HVAC systems (e.g., fan coil)
Irrigation systems
Pool auto-fill lines

Management teams gain greater transparency and are better equipped to mitigate high water bills and water damage with this information.

Organizations using water intelligence

International integrated facility management service providers, supermarket chains, government agencies, property management companies and any organization that owns or manages buildings with running water have saved millions of dollars with Alert Labs water intelligence solutions. Water intelligence allows these organizations to analyze water flow, detect water leaks faster, manage temperature and humidity better and control water flow remotely. For these reasons, water intelligence must be part of every organization’s building water management.

‍

Already an Alert Labs customer? Download the latest version of the AlertAQ™ app for Android and iOS: