Water Detection: Sensing cable versus Flood sensor

Water Leak Detection with a Sensing cable

Water Leak Detection (WLD) uses a WLD sensing cable that detects liquid along the entire length of the sensing cable, which means it can monitor an extended area at once. Even the smallest amount of liquid (a few drops) can send the alert. Several WLD devices are available: WLD2, SD-WLD, NB-WLD, Sensor WLD Relay 1W-UNI.

>> WLD sensing cable product page 

Advantages of Water Leak Detection with sensing cable by HW group

• WLD sensing cable detects liquid along the entire length of the sensing cable

• Even the smallest volume of water, ethylene glycol, or other conductive liquid triggers the alarm

• Thanks to that you can react very quickly and avoid costly damages that could be the aftermath of flooding

• The cable has unique user-friendly features

  • No Bend limit: The sensing cable is not limited by any bending radius 

  • No Twist limit: The sensing cable can be twisted as any other electrical cable

  • No Grip limit: Water detection functionality is not limited by point pressure within a reasonable range.

Using WLD sensing cable

• Detects water across the extent area
• Detects the first few drops of water, reaction time is 1-5 minutes
• High installation costs

When using Water Leak Detection with a sensing cable you can detect the first drops anywhere in the monitored room/area. Thanks to the early alert significant damages to IT or other infrastructure can be avoided. Water Leak Detection with sensing cable is recommended in IT, data centers, technology, the medical sector, or anywhere else, where any water damage would be highly expensive. 

A sensing cable can be installed under raised floors in datacentres, wrapped along the pipes, routed along the walls, etc. Custom solutions for every need are possible.

 

>> More about WLD system

 

Spot water Detection

Flood detectors monitor water presence at one predetermined spot. This means that the detectors aren´t able to detect small water leakage across the room if the water doesn´t cumulate directly around the detector. Flood detectors also have to be entirely flooded for the alarm to be sent out. HW group offers one sensor for flood detection Flood detector 1W-UNI. The advantage of using the Flood detector as a tool for Water Leak Detection is the low price. However, you risk costly damages to your property, hardware or inventory.

Using Flood detector

• Detects water in 1 point only
• Has to be entirely flooded, reaction time is long and the alarm is delayed
• Cost-effective installation and sensor

Unlike WLD, flood detectors detect water only in one spot and have to be entirely flooded. This means you will not be alerted immediately when a water pipe breaks but only after the area is considerably flooded. That is why it is not the ideal solution for data centers etc., where you need to be alerted before the water reaches your IT infrastructure. Only the WLD sensing cable ensures that.

 

The difference between WLD detection and Spot Detection

The main differences between WLD detection and Spot water detection are summered in the table below.

	Water Leak Detection	Spot water detection
Type of sensor	WLD Sensing cable A	Flood detector 1W-UN
Detection zones / Spots	1-4 zones across the extent area	1 spot
Reaction time	1-5 minutes	hours
Output states	0 (ok) / 1 (water) / 2 (cable failure)	0 / 1
Disconnected device alert	Yes, via portal	-
Installation costs	500-5000 Euro	Low
Potencial damages of water leakage	Low	High & Costly

Both the WLD system and Flood detectors can be connected to HWg monitoring Eco-system with variable devices, for example with Poseidon2 as is shown in the following scheme.

 

Which product is suitable for your needs?

Each product is made for a different purpose. WLD sensing cable guarantees a quick response to any water present on your premises and is therefore most suitable for areas where water damage would be expensive. The applications are diverse, the sensing cable can be routed under raised floors or along the walls, wrapped along the pipes, or placed under air-conditioning outlets. On the other hand, a Flood detector can be used in places, where the water can´t do much damage and we don´t need to act quickly in case of a flood. Using a Flood detector in the data center equals receiving a swimming invitation among your racks and IT infrastructure, which is something you probably want to avoid.

Water Leak Detection (Sensing cable)	Spot water detection (Flood detector)
Datacenters Storage rooms Technology locations Wooden constructions Security systems Medical sector	Indoor or outdoor detection of big amounts of water (Flood) Water level detection in tanks (detecting excessively high water levels)

If you are not sure which product is the most suitable for you, please contact us at support [at] hwg [dot] cz.