Toilet Leak Protection : Guard Dog Valve

Background

Buildings owners and managers have a problem when it comes to leaking toilets.

1. Inherently and intuitively they know this is a problem and that this costs them money. Most older apartment buildings do not have the ability to separately charge their tenants for water usage.
2. Historically, owners and managers have not been able to quantify this problem and have struggled to make investments to solve a problem they can’t quantify.
3. Too often owners and managers make an investment in new toilets when it’s not necessary. The biggest savings from new toilet projects is that you temporarily fix the leaking toilets.

Solution(s)

• Using an IoT Flow sensor on the City Water meter we evaluated how much water buildings use from 1am to 5am and break this down on a per unit basis to establish a common benchmark.
• The range extends from a low of 5L / Unit / Hour to a high of 20L / Unit / Hour.
• We looked at a sample from 2022 (April 15 – May 15th) prior to installation and before the seasonal start up of the irrigation system and a second sample (POST Install) from 2023 (April 15 – May 15th).
• We then installed 66 Guard Dog Valves in Building A and 104 Guard Dog Valves in Building B.
• Where we observed toilet deficiency issues they were noted but they were not addressed in terms of fixing a leak if it was observed.

Results

• Year-over-Year (YOY) consumption dropped by as much as 36.6%.
• ROI ranged from 27% to 66%.
• Greater results realized in Bld B that was comparatively a poorer performing building consuming more than 500L / unit / day in the Pre Analysis.

Table 1.0 Pre and Post Results

Project Costs based upon $240 (CAD) installed per toilet.

Installation and Evaluation Parameters:

• Toilet deficiencies observed during installation were noted but not repaired (i.e. Fill Valves or Flush seals).
• Comparative Pre and Post was YoY using same 30 day window in 2022 and 2023.
• Both buildings were equipped with an IoT Sensor affixed to the City Water Meter (see Figure 2).

Figure 1.0 Sample Installation 12” Supply from Shut Off + Valve to Toilet Tank

Figure 2.0 Daily Consumption Jan 1 2022 : July 31 2023

• Installation averages 15 minutes / toilet.
• Installation requires a functioning angle stop / shut-off valve.
• Valve can be tank mounted (as shown in image) or wall mounted.
• Sensor that controls valve is battery operated.
• Lithium battery is re-chargeable based upon Patented HydroGenerator that uses supply of water as it passed through valve to re-charge the battery.
• Device does NOT communicate.
• Device does NOT require maintenance.

Summary

1. On a sample of 5,000 installations, the average savings is 35%.
2. There is no maintenance for a “green” solution that uses the energy from flowing water to operate.
3. Installation at 15 minutes / toilet can be outsourced or completed by in-house personnel.
4. Measuring to manage before you start ensures a sufficient return on your investment.

Figure 3.0 Installation Steps

For more information contact
Water Control Management
Bob Langlois
bob.langlois@water-controls.com
Direct: 416-625-7801