Smart and Connected Solutions Continue to Hit Their Stride

When I recently discussed with Watts experts the importance of their smart and connected products, I certainly didn’t anticipate being asked about the last time I replaced the hoses on our washing machine.

I had to admit the answer was “never” for my 8-year-old appliance. I was also surprised to hear that they’re supposed to be changed every three to five years. Washing machine hoses are constantly pressurized, and they’ll perish over time. And, as the folks at Watts reminded me, “one of those hoses will burst — and you’ll be on vacation.”

Now my washing machine hoses aren’t exactly smart and — as for being connected — that was accomplished with a pair of pliers. 

Uncovering customer pain points is a big part of the product innovation conversation. There’s a lot of upfront work that must first be done to talk to customers and find out the answers to questions about where those pain points are.

Also, a smart and connected product is much more than one particular product — it’s a smart and connected solution to an entire building or home’s water resources.

Prime Example

As it turns out, Watts itself is a prime example of avoiding a pain point through the use of a smart and connected solution.

Three years ago, Watts acquired The Detection Group, a provider of wireless water security solutions and a leader in wireless water leak detection for commercial buildings. TDG’s Trident wireless water leak detection system allows for 24/7/365, real-time detection and notification of the precise location of water leaks in any size or age building.

And that system saved Watts at least $50,000 in damages on a recent, otherwise quiet Sunday morning at the company’s corporate headquarters in North Andover, Mass., after a water hose in the building’s irrigation room disconnected. 

As soon as the break happened, water started flowing out — first into the irrigation room and then into a nearby shipping and receiving hallway. With no one around, it was on its way towards wreaking havoc on the carpeted space of the ground-floor offices, cubicles and meeting rooms.

The Trident system, installed a year earlier, sent out an alert to Watts facilities team members at 7 a.m. on the day of the emergency. The team responded quickly to stop the leak and then got to work cleaning up the pooled water.

Not surprisingly, water leaks are a huge pain point. Other pain points come down to pressure and temperature regulation as well as flow control.

Often times, contractors are so used to dealing with common issues that many just take them in stride and don’t think there are other ways to dealing with these issues until an emergency service call. It becomes part of life for many contractors.

Watts’ job is to peel back the onion on their objections and point out that there might be a better way. And Watts thinks they’re at the point where they can provide contractors with that better way that really targets the primary pain points a contractor may have when it comes to common plumbing and heating products.

Products

In the 150 years since its founding, Watts has learned the importance of investing in emerging technology. The company’s recent investment in connected products and solutions now serve many markets worldwide.

As noted in our interview with CEO Robert J. Pagano Jr., the company anticipated that it would achieve the goal in 2023 to achieve 25% of its revenue from the sale of smart and connected products.

According to its 2022 Sustainability Report, 52% of Watts products fall under the category of “residential and commercial flow,” with “many of our flow-control and protection products now smart and connected enabled products, warning of leaks and floods with alerts to building management systems and/or personal devices, giving our customers greater insight into their water management and the ability to shut off the water supply to avoid waste and mitigate damages.”

In addition, Watts categorizes another 31% of its products as “HVAC and gas products,” with the majority of these featuring “advanced controls enabling customers to easily connect to the building management system for better monitoring, control, and operation.

Let’s look at just some of Watts’ smart and connected products portfolio:

SentryPlus Alert is a connected and IoT-enabled reduced pressure zone (RPZ) backflow preventer and flood protection shutdown automatic control valve designed to provide facility managers with 24/7/365 peace-of-mind protection against flooding because of catastrophic RPZ backflow discharge.

The advanced protection provided by an RPZ backflow preventer comes with the possibility of discharge through the relief valve should the valve become compromised. While this is part of the backflow preventer doing its job, it’s an excessive discharge that can cause flood damage to a facility. SentryPlus Alert detects potential flood conditions, can shut down the water supply, and issue multi-channel alerts so action can be taken — all before major damage occurs. Once installed, the system stands on guard from detection to protection, allowing service managers or building owners to be there, even when they’re not.

Watts RPZs are shipped standard with a flood sensor at no charge. The installer needs only to add a cellular or BMS monitoring kit to activate it. Watts also offers a monitoring kit with sensor for existing RPs.  

In addition, Watts offers a Cellular Gateway Sensor Connection Kit. Rather than hard-wiring into a BMS (Building Management System) control panel, Watts’ cellular gateway sensor can connect to a local cell signal to transmit an alarm for a water discharge event.  

Using the Watts SentryPlus application powered by Syncta, a user can build a profile, register and activate their backflow valve, then be able to monitor one or multiple valves in a dashboard. The kit comes with a two-year subscription service, then changes to a month-to-month subscription fee. 

A recent enhancement is Watts’ new Tamper Switch. It’s an important part of their smart and connected backflow story and a key solution for backflow assemblies that are used to supply water to a fire protection sprinkler system. Many backflow assemblies on fire sprinkler lines are chained or have an alarm added to them after installation to prevent tampering; our integrated tamper switch comes preinstalled and is designed to immediately send a signal to the fire panel if someone tries to turn the yoke on the OS&Y gate valves. Users need only to wire the switch to the panel.

Over a decade ago, Watts acquired North America’s leading provider of sophisticated electronic controls for the radiant heat and snowmelt industry — tekmar — a move that has since positioned Watts as market leader of ever-more sophisticated, connected thermostats and system controls.

   Controlling and managing comfort — and, with snowmelt, safety too — is ever more important. The technology now allows real-time access to information, data collection and management of all facets of the comfort/control/safety equation — whether through a sophisticated BAS (BACnet), or on a smaller residential scale.  

A recent advancement has been the development of sophisticated controls that can be installed using traditional two-wire connections commonly found in installation, making it possible to provide advanced control for systems in older homes or buildings — without the need and expense to run new wiring between thermostats and the mechanical room. 

Watts also owns AERCO International, a leading manufacturer of high-efficiency commercial boilers and water heaters.  

AERCO’s onAER offers advanced predictive maintenance through AERCO’s affordable, easy-to-use, remote system health monitoring with instant access to unit performance details, event history, maintenance schedules and more.  The technology ensures that systems operate at peak performance while reducing cost of ownership. The cloud-based software helps building/facility owners avoid lost revenue due to undetected equipment faults and downtime.  

Element Q from Lync is a packaged domestic water solution — offering digital mixing for domestic hot water (DHW), on-board filtration and UV for pre-treatment. 

Element Q brings the functionality of a full DHW system in addition to multi-barrier, waterborne pathogen protection and remote monitoring, into one compact, smart appliance as a single-sourced solution.

Dormont released the FloPro-MD 3-in-1 gas flow and pressure measurement system as a means of temporarily monitoring gas flows to help service technicians and installers more easily perform equipment start-ups, commissioning, and gas flow issue troubleshooting. It offers 24/7/365 monitoring of fuel pressure at many points within a gas-piped network, overpressure protection alarm and shutdown capabilities.

Lastly, there’s the release of the IoT enabled Powers IntelliStation Jr. — the “little brother” to the Powers IntelliStation digital mixing station for large commercial domestic water systems, typically found in hospitals and hotels, and as part of a building management system.  

Originally released in 2017 with BACnet capabilities, an enhanced cloud-connected version was launched in 2021 with mobile and web applications; data analytics, device witnessing, management and reporting.  

The technology offers programmable set point range of 60 F to 180 F, water temperature control +/- 2 F in accordance with ASSE 1017, user-selected high and low temperature alerts and a scheduling feature with temperature setback. Its high temperature sanitization mode addresses waterborne bacteria. IntelliStation Jr. is also self-balancing, which prevents overnight temperature creep by balancing the hot water distribution system during low- to no-demand periods.

With IoT capabilities, “Jr.” offers digital mixing with remote control and monitoring of tempered water distribution. Users achieve safety at-a-glance with remote visibility on the accompanying mobile and web app. Configurable on-site and easy to install, IntelliStation Jr. doesn’t require factory pre-programming, a laptop, or special software when commissioning or adjusting.