Running toilets are an expensive and common problem.
Tenants usually aren't incentivized to report them, so they rarely do and most of the toilets often go on running for years.
In New York City, the average running toilet will cost $8,000 per year in water usage. Given that the average 100 unit building has at least 3 or 4 of these (that property managers have no idea know about), makes this issue a significantly expensive problem worth solving.
The problem with solving it is it can be really expensive. Normally, you have to hire plumbers to cut pipes and install water line meters, then hire electricians to wire the meters. Depending on how many you're installing, the costs of the meters and labor add up very quickly.
Or you could go a different route - send someone to go unit by unit and routinely inspect every single toilet in the building. But that's incredibly time consuming and disruptive to tenants - and you'd have to do it on a consistent basis. Not a good option for anyone.
In the video above Lee demos the Runwise system that uses inexpensive, 10 year battery-powered sensors that easily clip onto water risers and transmit a signal wirelessly. No pipes to cut. No electrician needed. No water line downtime.
The sensors monitor water flow and send immediate alerts when a leak, or in the case of this example, a running toilet is found.
Runwise system users get push notifications on their smart phones from the mobile app, as well as email and text notifications so any issue can be located and repaired as fast as possible.
Beyond water savings, the system also issues alerts for potentially hazardous conditions, like excessively hot water temperatures, that could lead to tenant injuries and legal liabilities (another unfortunately common problem).
The discussion in the video above highlights how this system not only cuts out the high cost of installed wired meters and eliminates the need for routine toilet inspections, but the cost of the system easily shows a return on investment within a few months, making them not only environmentally friendly but also financially smart choices for building owners.
