Leak detection: where the cable actually needs to go

Water damage claims in commercial buildings are overwhelmingly caused by slow leaks on joints, valves and condensate trays - not dramatic bursts. Detection needs to sit where the water first appears, which is rarely the middle of the room.

Route to the risk

• Every flanged joint, valve set and strainer on wetted pipework
• AHU and FCU condensate trays and drain routes
• Plant room low points and around pump sets
• Riser bases and any route above critical equipment
• Beneath raised floors on the drainage fall line, not the perimeter

Then integrate it. A detection panel that beeps in an empty plant room at 2am has not protected anything. Alarms belong in the BMS, mapped to graphics, with a defined escalation route.