Following a recent survey our buildings and contents insurers have recommended (not required) that we install a leak detection system. That’s a new one on us so I wondered if anyone had any experience or recommendations? Many thanks indeed
If not already, put ‘Waterguard’ in to a search engine. Their 'site identifies both passive and active protections, although (and of course), you need to identify what risks you are trying to protect and mitigate against? e.g. are you in a block, where a leak could affect others? Have you material plumbing in ceiling spaces and/or within floors (as most have!).
Of course, things like leaking waste pipes, will only be detected from passive protections - and they won’t stop an on-going leak!
And be mindful of the need for regular maintenance and certifications should your insurer’s terms change.
The obvious question, detect what ???
Gas, water, CO2, plus a lot more I could think of …
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Since we moved in 2024 to our 70s split level bungalow!! We’ve had water 3 leaks, all under concrete.
Homeserve have been out and done leak detection and 2 out of 3 were identified at the time, but took a long time. The 3rd took 3 attempts, as they couldn’t narrow it down. The 3rd attemp used newer equipment.
A leak detection system sounds good, but I wonder how useful it is. For 2 of leaks the water meter told us we had them (high usage) but not where. We discovered a mini swimming pool under our stairs for the second leak, which was also detected by my wife who said it smelt under the stairs….I said it was shoes.
The 3rd was identified after a year really, and was highlighted by boiler pressure issues.
So for me the idea sounds good but only if it twells you where.
Thanks for all these replies. The insurers’ recommendation is specifically to detect water leaks. We live in a regular house where most of the water is at one end though we have central heating which runs pipes in ceilings and there is an en suite bathroom that involves pipes running from one end of the house to the other. Perhaps the key question for the insurers is whether they would reduce our premium if we did the work…
I wouldn’t go down that road. It could be fraught with issues around disclosure and maintenance and regular certification costs. As others have said here, just stop and think what you’re actually protecting, and how would a detection system serve to offer such (limited) protection? e.g. if an internal CH pipe leaks at ground floor level, it’ll have head of water above it, and it’s highly unlikely a detector will catch it – far more likely wet carpet or a rippling wood floor will tell the tale.
We se a device called LeakBot which was given to us for free with our Hiscox property and contents insurance. It is supposed to alert me if the device detects a slow leak or indeed a large ongoing use of water. I have found that it often thinks there is a minor leak which always fixes itself within a few days or weeks and it sometimes alerts me to ongoing high use of water, which never turned out to be true. And the one time it should have notified me of such ongoing high use, it didn’t, so we came home after a couple of days away to find that the garden pot watering system had failed when a hose came undone and there was water all over the garden, but not in the pots where it had obviously been missed by the plants concerned. (And yes the garden watering system is on the house side of the monitored water supply point.)
So personally I wouldn’t bother with such a device unless it was required by the insurer.
And specified by…… to avoid future issues.
ATB, J
They may have just offered you advice rather than making it a condition, but if you don’t take their advice, and than have to claim for a leak in future, I wonder if they would quibble.
Thanks for that - NFU included an offer for one of these freebies at the last couple of renewals and I’ve been wondering if I should investigate more. Following your post I decided not to bother so you’ve saved me work and problems.
Thames Water are fitting ‘smart meters’.
Apart from the obvious of transmitting usage readings to TW, the customer also has access to monitor on phone/tablet/PC to interrogate and investigate.
The leak detection is done by TW auto system monitoring for unusual flow patterns including very low continuous water flow. (e.g., dripping taps or running toilets)
Or by customer monitoring and raising a concern based on recorded evidence.
We have a smart meter. Neighbours were contacted by Anglian water that they were using unusually high amount of water from their smart meter……..it was eventually corrected by their insurance company.
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There is still ambiguity here about the type of water leak.
For example, we had leak detection in our first home. It was electrodes in a network behind the skirting boards. If a bath overflowed or a washing machine dumped water over the floor, it would detect it, shut off the water main to prevent water damage, and trigger a phone call from the building maintenance to say a leak had been detected in room X.
And it even went off once when the washing machine drain clogged and back flooded the bathroom. It was mandatory installation for our insurance in a new build.
Many thanks for all the contributions which have been very helpful. I rather think that a smart meter would do most of the job that our insurers have in mind. The snag is that we are with quite a small water company and, while we have a meter, it isn’t smart so requires a trip out to the street and opening up the conduit to observe the read out from the Morris Marina milometer. I understand that smart meters are just beginning to roll out around here but it’s at such an early stage that it’s not possible to ask for one, you just have to wait…
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