Although House of Generations (Generationernes Hus) in Aarhus, Denmark, was only completed in 2020, the property has already suffered one traumatic experience with a major water leak, which resulted in the rehousing of some residents as well as large expenses for emergency repairs and cleaning. House of Generations was actually designed to include a traditional, centralised leak notification system, which was supposed to detect leaking water and issue an alarm. But when a situation did arise, the sensors failed to work optimally and the leak was only discovered when it was too late and the damage was extensive.

Learning from experience, the decision was made to find a suitable leak sensor. House of Generations ended up choosing two different variants of Brunata’s leakage sensors, which send alarms directly to the operator if they detect direct water impact and increased humidity in a room, respectively.

“In the approximately six months that the sensors have been installed in every technical room in all our tenancies, we have received notifications both from the sensors that measure direct water impact and from the sensors that measure relative humidity. The alarm about direct water impact came from a small amount of water lying on the floor that had not dried out yet. It wasn’t serious, but it showed us that the sensor was working. The second alarm was more serious,” says Bjarne Eis, technical coordinator at House of Generations and trained engineer.

The investment paid off in just a few months

In the summer of 2021, there was an alarm from the leak detector due to excessive humidity in an empty apartment in House of Generations. When Bjarne Eis carried out a control check in the apartment, there was nothing to see. However, within a few days, the humidity in the apartment rose to a critical level, triggering a new alarm. When they examined the technical room again, it turned out that there was indeed a leak. It was discovered at such an early stage that they were able to call in a plumber, who immediately repaired the damage before it became expensive and resource-intensive.

“Our investment in Brunata’s sensors has already paid for itself. Water damage of the type we had this summer could easily have run into a considerable amount if we hadn’t discovered it in time. In addition, we also feel more assured because we now know that the technology works and sends out an alarm if there is something we need to be aware of,” says Bjarne Eis.

Access to management

Armed with documentation from their various water damage incidents, Bjarne Eis held meetings with senior management and the information has now been passed on to colleagues in Aarhus Municipality, where they were very receptive to the positive business case as they also share concerns about avoiding unnecessary inconvenience for residents. The effect is the same, regardless of whether you install these types of leak sensors in new or old municipal buildings.

“For me, it’s not about highlighting Brunata or their solutions. It’s about learning from our experiences and saving money in the municipal budget. The fact that I collaborated with a supplier who delivered the very best has just made my job a little easier,” concludes Bjarne Eis.