A water detector is an electronic device that is designed to detect the presence of water and provide early warning to allow prevention of water leaks. A common design is a small cable or device that extends over a floor and depends on the electrical conductivity of the water to decrease the resistance through two contacts. Then the device emits an audible alarm along with the forward signaling in the presence of sufficient water to join the contacts. These are useful in a normally occupied area near any infrastructure that has the potential for water leaks, such as HVAC, water pipes, drain pipes, vending machines, dehumidifiers or water tanks.
Water leak detection is an expression most commonly used for larger integrated systems installed in modern buildings or containing valuable artifacts, materials or other critical assets where early notification of a potentially harmful leak would be beneficial. In particular, the detection of water leaks has become a necessity in data centers, bargaining facilities, banks, archives and other mission-critical infrastructures.
The water leak detection industry is small and specialized, with only a few manufacturers operating around the world. The original application was in the vacuum created by the "computer room" floors at the time of the major rack systems computer systems. They use a modular raised floor based on a structural "floor tile", generally 600 mm square, and supported at the corners by pedestals. The created vacuum gave easy access and routing for the large amount of power, networks and other interconnection cables associated with larger computer systems (processors, drives, routers, etc.). Central computers also generated large amounts of heat, so a vacuum under the floor could also be used as a plenum to distribute and diffuse cold air around the computer room. Therefore, it is likely that the vacuum will have pipes of ice water running through it along with the condensate drains associated with the cooling plant. In addition, the designers found the empty floor a very convenient place to route other humid services that feed bathrooms, radiators and other facilities.
Therefore, a leak inside an empty floor would go unnoticed until the hydrostatic pressure meant that the water would reach the lower floors where it would see its dripping through the roof or, more disconcertingly, the water would penetrate into the joints and power or network wiring connectors and cause system short-circuit failures.
Current digital water leak detection systems can locate multiple water leaks with a resolution of 1 meter in a complex network of cables running several kilometers. This functionality reduces downtime and potential damage caused by inaccurate reporting that was common with older analog systems.
Water leak detection systems can be integrated with Building Management Systems using multiple protocols such as Modbus. Using SNMP protocols, leak detection systems can inform IT staff in charge of monitoring the data center and server rooms. It is not only critical to detect a water leak, but also a prompt and adequate alert; if automated corrective actions are not taken.