Canada is a nation of immense natural resources. Some are locked away in vast frozen landscapes, but many are close by. The Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence Seaway and myriad tributaries store much of Canada’s freshwater, and indeed the world’s. Open horizons are rich with the essential elements of modern energy, including oil, natural gas, seasonal winds and hydroelectric power.
And yet, to the water or energy consumer staring at the monthly utility bill, this abundance can seem abstract. Energy and water rates are high, and steadily moving upward.
This is true even in regions with high concentrations of resources. In fact, a report aired by PBS found: “Some of the highest rates for water in Ontario are in cities and towns within the Great Lakes watershed, including Thunder Bay on Lake Superior, Windsor on Lake St. Clair, Kingston on Lake Ontario, and Chatham-Kent on Lake Erie.” This is true for many Quebec communities, as well.
These high costs are especially challenging for owners and property managers of multi-residential buildings, office complexes, retail and commercial properties, hotels, restaurants, and many more. To address the problem, it’s important to examine the two distinct variables affecting water cost: the price charged by the regional utility and the piping system within a building.
For consumers and businesses alike, there’s not much that can be done about water rates. But there are some simple fixes that can be done to add efficiencies to water systems, thereby plugging leaks that are draining revenue.
“When it comes to the cost of water, much is determined by the state of pipes and other infrastructure — so much so that it’s often challenging to separate the cost of the resource itself from the infrastructure necessary to use it,” the PBS report noted.
Small leaks invariably become bigger leaks, and eventually systemic leaks. Fortunately there are ways building owners can reduce this loss, and chief among them is a simple device called Smart Valve™.
Distributor Canadian Water Savings Inc. indicates that the invention is in use by 20,000 businesses in Canada and the U.S. More significantly, the company says that customers are reporting savings of 15 to 35 per cent off the monthly water bill.
This is the equivalent of thousands of dollars a month for the typical user. In addition to the measurable savings is the added benefit of simplicity. The Smart Valve™ is designed to be simple, quick to install and easy to remove, if desired.
The engineering principles at work are simple, as well: Whenever water flows through a faucet, air is mixed with the water. This happens naturally as a result of the turbulence created when water accelerates through pipes. This air adds volume to what is measured by water meters, driving up costs. Air is free, but not when it’s in your water pipes.
The Smart Valve™ removes air from the water system. It does this by creating back pressure that reduces turbulence, maintaining an even flow through the pipes. Without the air bubbles in the water, there’s less total volume for a water meter to measure.
According to Canadian Water Savings, case studies prove the point. A Toronto condominium complex, for example, recently reported savings of more than 28 per cent after installation of Smart Valve™. Interestingly, the savings rose over the first several months as the device adjusted to the water system and efficiency increased.
Benefits of Smart Valve™ go beyond the actual savings. An efficient water system means less risk of developing mold at the site of a leak. There’s also less chance that drywall and other materials will be destroyed.
Canadian Water Savings is confident in the product, and offers an airtight guarantee: If water cost savings don’t meet or exceed 15 percent, the company will remove the valve free of charge. Not surprisingly, that rarely happens.
For property managers across North America, Smart Valve™ is the common-sense solution to rising water costs, combining state-of-the-art engineering with the simplicity of a user-friendly device. Discover more by logging on to CanadianWaterSavings.com or call: 1.855.237.2669.
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