Where water damage starts in multi-family buildings

Supply lines that are always under pressure

Washing machines, dishwashers and toilets sit on supply lines that are always under pressure. When a hose or a fitting lets go, the water runs until someone sees it.

A burst washer hose releases 500 plus gallons an hour into the flooring, the cabinets and the unit below.

A sensor under each fixture and a valve on the unit’s line

An Eddy H2O sits on the floor under each fixture. Water that reaches its contacts sets off an alert over LoRaWAN in seconds, to your team and the 24/7 monitoring center at the same time.

An Eddy IQ on the unit’s supply line meters it and can close it on a rule you set. Only that unit loses water.

Shutoff rules are configured per building. Some sites use operator-coordinated isolation instead.

Further reading: Appliance leaks in multifamily buildings

Concealed lines, and gravity

33%of multi-family leaks start in pipes and risers, at $111,600 a leak, the most damaging source in the building

The lines are concealed in walls and shafts and pressurized at 40 to 80 PSI. A failed fitting can release 5 to 8 gallons a minute into drywall and insulation before anyone sees a stain.

Gravity does the rest. 79% of major leaks start on floors 2 to 10, high enough to have floors below. Floors 2 to 5 alone saw 142 leaks, 27 of them major.

January is the busiest month, with 81 leaks and 44 of them major, when heating is under load and pipes are at their coldest. PRMA’s webinar library has a session with NFPA on preparing a building for a winter freeze.

Sensors at the risers, meters on the flow

An Eddy H2O sits at the foot of the risers on every floor, where water from a riser leak shows up first.

Meters watch the flow for the leaks no sensor can reach. In the basement, Eddy Link reads the meter on the main and drives the valves on the main and on each riser zone, provisioned and configured by Eddy. The valves close on the rules you set, automatically at a threshold or remotely from the dashboard.

Further reading: Burst and frozen pipes in buildings and Riser rooms and water risers

Drain pans out of sight

17%of multi-family leaks start in HVAC equipment, at $90,700 a leak. More than half of HVAC events are genuine leaks.

Fan coils and their condensate lines sit in closets inside each unit and above ceilings. When a drain pan overflows, the water goes into the floor and the ceiling below, out of sight.

A sensor in every drain pan

An Eddy H2O sits in the drain pan under each fan coil, so an overflow is caught in the pan instead of the ceiling below. On the heating and cooling loop, meters watch the make-up water and a valve can isolate the loop.

Further reading: HVAC water leaks, and why they cost so much

A room nobody visits after hours

1 in 23boiler room sensors found a leak, the highest risk per sensor of any source, at $76,700 a leak

Boilers and domestic hot water make few events, but the water is scalding and under pressure, in a room nobody visits after hours. The building’s domestic main comes in here too.

Sensors at the boilers, a valve on the main

Eddy H2O sensors sit at the boilers and tanks and track temperature and humidity as well as water. On the domestic main, Eddy Link drives a motorized valve that closes on a rule or remotely from the dashboard.

Nobody there to see it

Every confirmed event carries a timestamp. 65% of multi-family events start after hours, and major leaks, the ones with the most destructive potential, peak at 2 AM, when the resident is asleep and the superintendent is home.

A 2 AM leak, unmonitored

Unmonitored, a 2 AM leak runs until someone notices in the morning, and gravity takes it through the floors below.

The same leak, monitored

Monitored, the same leak stays in the unit it started in. The sensor alerts, a shutoff rule closes the unit’s valve and an operator calls your on-site team.

Automatic shutoff is configured per building. Some sites use operator-coordinated isolation instead.

Automation first, then a person on the phone

Behind every alert is the 24/7 monitoring center. Automation acts first, then trained operators confirm the alert and work through your escalation list until someone has eyes on the water.

Three real events, as the monitoring center logged them

1. 8:50 AM · Boiler room, mechanical penthouse

   A leak in a room nobody visits

   A sensor in the boiler room gets wet.

   A small leak near the boilers, a puddle of water.

   Concierge and maintenance already on it. Resolved on the same call.

   Resolved in 17 minutes

2. 10:12 AM · Laundry room, condo unit

   A burst pipe sorted the same day

   A sensor behind the washing machine gets wet.

   A supply pipe let go. Flowing, not dripping.

   Builder on site, leak sorted the same day, follow-up call set.

   Call in 5 minutes

3. 7:17 PM · Kitchen, condo unit, after hours

   Shut down at night, dealt with in the morning

   A sensor under the dishwasher gets wet.

   A dishwasher line leaking under the cabinet, no maintenance until morning.

   Valves shut the same evening, calls held overnight as the building asked.

   Call in 6 minutes

Real events from monitored buildings with identifying details removed. Times are from the incident records.

Further reading: Ceiling leaks in apartments and condos