Water damage is one of the most common reasons for home insurance claims (Insurance Information Institute). And the average water damage from flooding costs between $19,000 and $26,000. If you want to avoid being part of these statistics, continue reading to learn how to protect your home from flooding.
How Can A Home Flood?
Your home can flood in many different ways, and they all have the potential to be catastrophic.
Your house can flood from:
- A burst toilet line
- Frozen pipes
- Leaky pipes
- Leaky water heater
- Cracked refrigerator tubes
- Clogged sewer or drain lines
- Faulty washing machine hose
How To Prevent A Home Flood
Water damage from flooding can be disastrous, destructive, and expensive. While you can’t predict or prevent every catastrophe, you can work to lessen the likelihood and extent of such damage.
One of the best ways to protect your home and property from water damage is having your trusted HVAC professional install an automatic water shut-off valve. This can stem the flow of water if a pipe bursts, even when you’re not home.
What Is an Automatic Water Shut-Off Valve?
An automatic water shut-off valve, also known as ASO valve, is meant to prevent or mitigate the effects of flooding. There are three main varieties of ASO valves: Point-Of-Use valves, Whole-House valves, and High-Volume Commercial Leak Detection Systems.
Point-Of-Use Automatic Water Shut-Off Valve
A Point-Of-Use automatic water shut-off valve monitors the flow of water through your pipes. If it detects an irregular flow or if too much water travels through the pipes, the valve will automatically shut off the supply. This should mitigate most of the water damage if a pipe bursts.
Whole-House Automatic Water Shut-Off Valve
A Whole-House automatic water shut-off valve is like a Point-of-Use valve for your entire water supply. It is integrated throughout the whole system and uses wired flood sensor and/or wireless flood sensors. If these sensors detect a leak, the valve immediately shuts off the water. Like a Point-Of-Use ASO valve, a Whole-House ASO valve minimizes water damage from a leak or burst pipe.
Your home insurance provider will most likely prefer that you use a Whole-House automatic water shut-off valve because they provide the best level of protection against water damage, leaks, and flooding.
High-Volume Commercial Leak Detection System
A High-Volume Commercial Leak Detection System is meant for large commercial spaces like schools, hospitals, shopping malls or office buildings. They work in the same way as other ASO valves but handle much higher volumes of water. Their leak detection system works in tandem with a pulse reader to identify leaks.
Why You Should Get an Automatic Water Shut-Off Valve
ASO valves provide invaluable benefits to homeowners, including:
- Preventing floods and mitigating water damage
- Alerting you to a damaged or leaky pipe
- Providing peace of mind even when you’re not home
- Extra protection during earthquakes and hurricanes
- Better water efficiency
An ASO valve may even get you a discount on your homeowner’s insurance!
The 3 Best Whole-House Auto Water Shut-Off Valves
Many manufacturers offer automatic water shut-off valves, but we recommend these three to our customers because we have found that they have excellent quality and value.
1. leakSMART
LeakSMART’s claim to fame is that is can detect a leak in your home in only 5 seconds! An award-winning plumbing mechanism, the leakSMART sensor is known for accurate leak identification and speedy notifications. Trusted by many HVAC and plumbing professionals, leakSMART is recommended if you want to both protect your home and minimize water waste.
2. Flologic
If you like home tech, Flologic is for you. It uses advanced technology to measure and record your home’s average water consumption. It can remember patterns and recognizes when your water consumption is higher or lower than usual. This pattern recognition allows it to identify leaks or signs of flooding, from a burst pipe to an overflowing toilet. If water-use levels are significantly higher than usual, the Flologic will turn off your water until you get home.
3. WaterCop
The WaterCop is the simplest and most affordable option on this list. It is the easiest to install, and comes with small, battery-operated sensors that you or your HVAC technician can place along your water main and throughout your home. If the sensors detect a certain amount of water or moisture, they will trigger the ASO valve.
The Flologic and smartLEAK are best for long-term solutions, while the WaterCop is ideal for short-term tenants and renters because you have to replace the batteries once a year.
Prevent Water Damage in Your Home
Installing an automatic shut-off valve is one of the easiest and most effective ways to prevent water damage and protect your home from flooding. If you have questions about ASO valves or installation, call or email Evolved Mechanical today. We can help you avoid catastrophic damage to your home and property.
References:
Insurance Information Institute. (n.d.). Facts Statistics: Homeowners and renters insurance, Retrieved July 15, 2019, from https://www.iii.org/fact-statistic/facts-statistics-homeowners-and-renters-insurance