Stop paying for air in your water bill

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In-line pressure valves deliver more water with an immediate cost savings of 15%-25%*

*Savings will vary by property.

 

More than 10,000 installations worldwide

The Problems With Water

There are several potential problems inherent in water delivery, usage and metering that can impact your water consumption and water costs. Most of these concerns revolve around water system pressure (PSI), flow rate (GPM), and turbulence.

 

It’s a simple fact that along with the volume of water passing through your water meter is a volume of air. The volume of that air will vary as the water pressure fluctuates between static and dynamic pressure. The problem is that over 99% of water meters measure by volume, regardless of whether that volume is liquid or gas.

 

 

Water meters are designed to be accurate within a specific flow range (GPM). If the flow rate exceeds this range, it can cause the meter to measure inaccurately, charging you for more than the actual gallonage used.

 

 

City pressure can fluctuate significantly, causing pressure surges and drops which can cause the meter to over-spin, sometimes damaging water systems and equipment. Surges also occur anytime you go from a closed system (static) to an open system (dynamic).

 

 

Water fixtures in your building are typically designed for water pressure of no more that 65 PSI. The water pressure delivered by your municipality is often much higher, resulting in too much water being pushed through your fixtures and potentially leaking through seals and gaskets that are designed for 65 PSI, resulting in increased maintenance and replacement costs.

 

The Solution

The Smart Valve™ takes long established principles of pressure and fluid dynamics, such as Boyle’s Law regarding gas pressure and volume, and Le Chatelier’s Principle of volumetric dynamics, and applies them in a new and financially rewarding application. We understand the physics of water and have applied that understanding to create a product that saves our customers money and water!

 
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Here's a Brief Video Overview

 

 

 

Flow Dynamics' customers using the Smart Valve™
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The Forces at Work

 
Air Compression
 
The Smart Valve™ constantly adjusts to downstream demand, while MAINTAINING as near city (static) pressure UPSTREAM past the water meter. By not allowing pressure to drop upstream, it prevents air volume from expanding due to the typical pressure drop created by water demand. The volume of air passes by the water meter in this compressed state until after it passes through the Smart Valve™ and soon returns to its original lower pressure state. The Smart Valve™ eliminates the excess volume of air at the point of water meter measurement, ensuring a lower meter reading but not impacting the pressure of water coming into the facility.

 
Reduced Consumption
 
An effect of creating backpressure upstream is a corresponding pressure drop downstream. The Smart Valve™ can precisely control the amount of pressure drop based on individual system needs. This pressure drop reduces actual water consumption in non-volumetric water uses such as showers, sinks, hoses and the like, adding up to meaningful water bill savings.

 
Flow Stabilization
 
Water meters are designed to be accurate within a specific flow range. If the flow exceeds this range, it can cause the metering to overread consumption. This is especially true during a surge as can happen by variability in the municipal water supply or by moving from a static to dynamic water flow. The Smart Valve™ uses proprietary variably adjusting technology to eliminate these peaks and valleys, creating a smooth, even flow that keeps your meter readings more accurate and protects against damage that can occur from a surge.

 
Pressure Reduction
 
Almost all water devices are designed for approximately 60-65 psi water supply. A higher psi can cause excessive water delivery, as well as undetected leaks at seals and gaskets. A pressure reducer can help this by maintaining a 60-65 psi into the facility. Unfortunately, these devices require maintenance and often fail. The Smart Valve™ is a reliable back-up, as it can achieve a significant pressure reduction in high-PSI water systems, reducing the problems caused by excessive water pressure.
 

Project Types

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Industrial Projects

Manufacturing, Power, Food and Beverage, Laundry, Biotechnology, Semiconductors

  • Reduce facility wide water and sewer costs
  • Meet corporate water reduction and sustainability goals
  • Improves water meter accuracy and billing
  • HVAC, plumbing and equipment asset preservation
  • Quick and easy to implement
Case Studies

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Commercial Projects

High-Rise Office, Campus Office, Healthcare Facilities and Hospitals, Car Washes, Retail

  • Reduce water and sewer costs
  • Meet corporate sustainability goals
  • Can help gain LEED water efficiency points
  • Extend life of HVAC and plumbing fixtures
  • Reduce leaks and fixture failures
  • Quick and easy to implement on building and irrigation meters
  • Easy to implement across entire portfolio of buildings
Case Studies

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Hospitality Projects

Hotels, Resorts, Golf Courses, Restaurants

  • Help achieve EPA water conservation targets
  • Meet federal, state and local sustainability goals
  • Extend life of HVAC and plumbing fixtures
  • Reduce water leaks and fixture failures
  • Easy to implement across entire portfolio
  • Can be used to show conservation efforts for government subsidies
Case Studies

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Institutional Projects

Government Buildings, Schools, Colleges and Universities, REIT's, ESCO's, Municipal Agencies

  • Help achieve EPA water conservation targets
  • Meet federal, state and local sustainability goals
  • Extend life of HVAC and plumbing fixtures
  • Reduce water leaks and fixture failures
  • Easy to implement across entire portfolio
  • Can be used to show conservation efforts for government subsidies
Case Studies

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Multi-Family and Residential Projects

Apartment Buildings, Low Income Housing, Condominiums, HOA’s 

  • Guaranteed saving on water/sewer expenses independent of resident behavior
  • Meet corporate sustainability goals
  • Reduce fixture leaks and failures
  • Extend plumbing fixture and equipment life
  • Differed maintenance
  • Reduce operating costs
  • Hedge water/sewer rate hikes
  • Easy to implement
Case Studies

Project Gallery

 

 

Frequently Asked Questions

 
01 – How Does Water Pressure Affect My Consumption?

The higher the pressure is in a system the more water that will be ‘pushed’ through the system. We are seeing higher and higher city pressure readings as municipalities grow and must deliver more and more water through their existing infrastructure. The only way to deliver more water is to replace the water system with larger pipes, which in most cases is not a feasible option, or to ‘crank up’ the pressure.

This is a problem because water fixtures are designed for pressure no higher than 65 PSI, and even more so in older facilities where there is no pressure regulator, or water fixtures were not designed for water conservation.

02 – Is There Really Air In My Water?

There is no debate that air is present in our water lines. Water systems are pressurized, but they are not vacuums. They are designed with this fact in mind to prevent potentially serious problems such as air blocks and air hammering. In fact, if there were no air to compensate for normal pressure drop during demand, we would see cavitation and damage to our pipes and fixtures. The only real question is how much air is there? The VOLUME is not constant and is determined largely by system pressure at any given point in the system. Because the volume of a gas is inversely related to pressure, the greater the pressure drop, the greater the increase in air volume.

Further reading:

Air-in-Pipelines-HRW-Report

Air-in-Pipelines-ValMatic-Report

03 – How Does Air Get Into The Water Line?

As well as being released from entrainment in water, air can be physically introduced to water distribution systems. Water providers work to prevent outside air infusion; however, air is inevitably drawn into the line through:
Tiny cracks, poor or damaged joint seals and leaking flange connections. Temperature, flow rate and pressure changes can generate a significant amount of air volume. Pumps that are positioned throughout the distribution system create pockets of air in the pipeline because of the vortex action of pumps. Surprisingly common main line breakages which can introduce huge amounts of air into the water system.

“Air behaves very unpredictably in a pipeline…in the normal operation of water pipeline system, maintenance activities and fluctuating period of consumption in demand will cause air to be released from solution and accumulate in the localized piping” – A New Understanding Of Air Transfer – Clean Water Legacy, January, 2003

04 – How Am I Paying For The Air?
There are many types of water meters, but they all use their various methods to measure VOLUME of water consumption. This volume measurement is measuring total volume, which includes any volume of air present. Typically, the volume of air can make up between 10% and 30% of total volume measured, however, we have seen cases of it being even higher.
05 – How Does The Smart Valve™ Save Me Money?

In a number of ways:
It maintains close to ‘city pressure’ UPSTREAM through the water meter to the city main by preventing the pressure drops that come from the property during normal water usage from reaching the water meter.

By not allowing the pressure to drop as much at the meter, it doesn’t allow the air to expand in volume and be measured by the water meter. Furthermore, it keeps your water meter operating within its designed flow range, and it reduces over-supply caused by higher-than-desired city pressure.

06 – How Much Money Will I Save?

The amount of money you will save is determined by several factors including:

- City pressure (PSI) and amount of pressure fluctuation

- Flow rate and flow capacity (GPM)

- The amount of air in the line at any given time

- The amount of non-volumetric water consumption

The actual savings you will experience is impossible to accurately predict and will vary with the conditions above. On average, our customers see +/- 20% savings, but we have seen users have savings as high as 35% and as low as 10%. What’s important is that once you install the Smart Valve™ it begins working 24/7/365. You will realize the full amount of savings available within your water supply without having to ever think about it again, and it will keep saving you money for as long as it is installed your water line.

07 – Does Air Still Go Through The Water Meter?
The Smart Valve™ does NOT remove the air. It prevents it from DECOMPRESSING and expanding in volume due to pressure drop caused by normal demand. Once the air passes through the water meter and The Smart Valve™, the pressure drops as it did before, and continues on to the property as before.
08 – Will The Smart Valve™ Affect My Water Pressure?

Anything in a water line will create some pressure drop. Even your water meter or a bend in a pipe causes a pressure drop. Fortunately, water systems are designed to have excess pressure.

The Smart Valve ‘borrows’ some of the excess downstream pressure found in every system to create the desired effect upstream. For the Smart Valve™ to work the system must be able to tolerate at least a small drop in PSI, however, with the EXTERNALLY ADJUSTABLE versions of the Smart Valve™ we can control the amount of PSI drop between zero (no effect) and a significant pressure drop, all depending on what can be tolerated. The goal is to find the strongest setting on the Smart Valve (to get the best possible results) that will not cause too much pressure loss. This is why external adjustability is critical to success.

As a rule of thumb, if you currently have no problems or complaints due to low water pressure, then your property is a good candidate for the Smart Valve™.

09 – Is The Smart Valve™ Safe And Legal To Install?

The Smart Valve™ is legal to install on the user side of the water meter (after the backflow preventer if one is present). Installation must be done in conjunction with all applicable laws, codes and standard plumbing practice in your area, however, no special permits or permission should be necessary.

The Smart Valve™ is constructed of extremely strong and durable Acetron GP and stainless steel, is in compliance with NSF / ANSI 61 (potable water) and NSF / ANSI 372 (lead free) and is safe for use with all potable and non-potable water applications.

10 – How Reliable Is The Smart Valve™?

The Smart Valve™’s only movement function is the compression of a spring and the associated opening and closing of a gasket-less plunger and housing. The valve is made of Acetron GP and stainless steel. Acetron GP is self-lubricating and has strength characteristics close to those of steel while still being flexible and impact absorbent.

The Smart Valve™ comes with a 10-Year Manufacturer’s Warranty, however the valve should continue to work reliably for much longer.

11 – Wouldn’t An All Metal Smart Valve™ Be Better?
No, it would be much more expensive, need maintenance and be likely to fail prematurely. Metals can corrode, they will accumulate particulates such as dirt or scale and will fail over time. The Smart Valve™ is made primarily from Acetron GP produced by Quadrants, and it is the absolute ideal material for this type of application.
12 – What is the difference between 1st, 2nd and 3rd Generation valves?

In short:

1st generation valve is ANY valve that cannot be adjusted/calibrated while it is in the line and water is running. This is an obsolete design.

2nd generation valve is the first externally adjustable valve design that can be calibrated while water is running.

3rd generation valve is a more advanced version of the 2nd generation that is better for larger pipe diameters.

13 – Why Is An Externally Adjustable Valve Better?
The valve must be properly calibrated to your system to achieve maximum savings without any negative effects. A non-adjustable valve must be calibrated BEFORE installation. Because your system is not in a laboratory and real-world conditions are variable, calibrating properly before installation is at best an educated guess. Furthermore, conditions can change and the initial calibration can become incorrect. With a non-adjustable valve, the only way to fix this is to call the plumber, turn off the water, remove the valve, make an adjustment, re-install it and hope it’s set right this time until conditions change again. With an externally adjustable valve the calibration is done AFTER installation. This allows us to achieve the perfect calibration to achieve maximum savings with no negative effects – EVERY TIME. And, if in the future conditions change, you can adjust the valve stronger or weaker…all the way to a ‘zero’ setting if needed, without the need for a plumber or interrupting your water supply ever again.
14 – Should I Put The Smart Valve™ On Every Water Meter?

Most water meters are candidates. There are some rare instances where the water meter is not a candidate for the Smart Valve™. These include where the water usage is too low for a reasonable return on investment, or where there are currently low-pressure problems.

Your local distributor will help you assess whether your property is a good candidate for the Smart Valve™. Rest assured, if you shouldn’t install a Smart Valve™ we will be the first to let you know.

The Smart Valve™ should NEVER be installed on a water system supplying firefighting water.

15 – How Difficult/Expensive Is It To Install The Smart Valve™?
The valve is designed to fit into standard pipe sizes and can be easily installed by any licensed plumber. Flow Dynamics does not install the Smart Valve™ directly but your sales representative can arrange the installation for you by a qualified local plumber at a competitive rate. You are also free to use your own favorite plumber. The cost will vary by the valve size, local plumber rates, and the configuration of your water system. As an example, a 2” Smart Valve™ typically takes 45-60 minutes to install.
16 – Does The Smart Valve™ Really Work?
Yes, it really does work and it’s amazing! We guarantee it will save you money!
17 – What Is The Warranty On The Smart Valve™?
Every Smart Valve™ comes with a 10-Year Manufacturer’s Limited Warranty.

 

 

The Earth'smart Team

 

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Bob Habian, AIA

CEO + Founder

(916) 541-8659
email

 

 

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Mark Hurst

Principal

(415) 623-8671
email

 

 

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Jeff Scott

H2O Whisperer

(619) 992-5104
email

 

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Tim Yeiser

Principal

(818) 606-7972
email

Ready to save on your water bill?

For immediate assistance

Bob Habian, AIA   |  (916) 541-8659   |   email
Mark Hurst   |  (415) 623-8671   |   email
Jeff Scott   |  (619) 992-5104   |   email

 

 

To learn more about Flow Dynamics, visit thesmartvalve.com

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