Multifamily Apartments Cut Water & Sewer Costs

Katy 300+ unit Apartment Complex Cuts Water Expenses by 19.7%

4” Valve – Actual 19.7% Usage Drop

• 472,000 gallons/month YOY savings

• 19.7% YOY reduction

• $3,847 monthly savings value

• $12.17 per unit, per month

• MUD Cost used is $8.15 per 1000 gallons

• Payback less than 4 months

Multi-asset Investor Shares Savings

American Apartment Owners Association Indicates Importance of Controlling Water and Sewer Costs

According to an article in the American Apartment Owners Association, utility bills – particularly water and sewer bills - are expected to continue to rise by 9% to 30% in cities from Jacksonville, to Milwaukee, to New York and Houston. Water bills impact which apartments are most competitive, no matter who pays. When an apartment owner includes utility bills in the rent, according the article, a sizable chunk of the investor’s return can be taken out of the bottom line and delivered to the municipality. The City of Houston utility bill online residential and commercial water payers are increasingly looking at ways to save money on their water and sewer bill. They ask the question “How can I save on my water bill?”

With some 600 people moving to Houston each day, apartment owners are both reaping the benefits of the population influx and paying for that increase with a disproportionate rise in water and sewer bills. In Houston, water and sewer utility bills increase by the SUM OF THE PERCENTAGE INCREASE IN POPULATION AND THE INCREASE IN THE AREA CONSUMER PRICE INDEX. This increase is ongoing, unpredictable and unrelenting.

So how can an apartment manager limit the city’s increase in their own water bills? The answer lies in limiting the amount of air purchased, as if it were water.

Texas A&M Experiment Station Study

A 2019 Texas A&M Experiment Station study on The Smart Valve documented The Smart Valve reduced the size of the air bubbles as the water flowed through the system. Validating the unique patented adjustable Smart Water Valve advantage, the study also affirmed that the rate of reduction increased as The Smart Valve spring was tightened by the user.

While the American Apartment Owners Association article suggested switching over to tenant paid utilities, that can be a cumbersome process and may not work in all markets. In the long run, tenants also tend to look at their total budget in determining where to rent or whether or not to move. While you can shift who pays for the water – someone has to pay and the tenant eventually does, or moves down the street. If you can reduce your tenant’s water expense by eliminating the amount of air purchased, that is just good for business.

Del Mar Apartments

In Houston, Del Mar Apartments has taken a proactive approach to mitigating the price increases they have seen in the Houston market with a view towards keeping their rents competitive for their tenants. After speaking with Tim Crockett, they installed a 3” Smart Valve at their property.  In the three months following the installation, they have seen their gallons used drop by 15% and their costs drop by 13.5%. (The difference reflects the balance between the fixed and variable portion of the city of Houston utility bill. We calculate customer results on a per day basis to accurately report results from year-over-year months which may have a different numbers of days in the utility billing cycle.)

Apartment Owners Save Money on Utility Bills Across the Country

These results are similar to what apartment owners have seen across the country. In Orange, New Jersey a 16-unit apartment complex installed a 1” Smart Valve at their complex. T.R.C. Management Co, the managing agent, reported a 26% decrease in their water utility bills. The management noted the accuracy of the study when they reported the occupancy remained constant and there was little turnover during the period studied. The Courtland Apartments in Hackansack, New Jersey installed a 3” Smart Valve and realized a 19% reduction in their consumption. Charlie Kelava, the Director of Operations for IGS noted that “with the Smart Valve operating for only half of the billing cycle a 12.2% savings was achieved. This is amazing!”. In Tampa, Florida a 370 unit apartment complex reduced their water and sewer charges by $50,000 over the two year period studied. These smart benefits were also realized by the Central Avenue Apartments in Orange, New Jersey when they installed the patented Smart Valve flow management device. This 13-unit complex installed The Smart Valve and saved 12.5% on their water bills, realizing a 19-month payback.

These testimonials and others are on our Testimonial page.

Plumbing Configurations

Apartment complexes that are 2-3 story generally rely on city pressure, without the use of auxiliary pumps or holdings tanks. As such The Smart Valve reduces both the flow rate – conserving water - and keeps the air bubbles small – reducing the amount of air purchased. Even though The Smart Valve is installed on the owner’s side of the meter, The Smart Valve extends the city’s high zone past the city meter, thus, lessening the drop in pressure as the water moves across the city meter. It basically maintains the same city pressure on both sides of the city meter so that the air in the water does not expand as the water passes through the meter. By doing so the miniature bubbles or air that is in the water (“entrained air”) does not increase in volume and therefore the apartment owner buys water, and not air.

The Smart Valve - Smarter than a Flow Constrictor

Apartment complexes that are 2-3 story generally rely on city pressure, without the use of auxiliary pumps or holdings tanks. As such The Smart Valve reduces both the flow rate – conserving water - and keeps the air bubbles small – reducing the amount of air purchased. (The Smart Valve always keeps the air bubbles small. See our page on How the Smart Valve Works for more information.) Even though The Smart Valve is installed on the owner’s side of the meter, The Smart Valve extends the city’s high zone past the city meter, thus, lessening the drop in pressure as the water moves across the city meter. It basically maintains the same city pressure on both sides of the city meter so that the air in the water does not expand as the water passes through the meter. By doing so the miniature bubbles or air that is in the water does not increase in volume and therefore the apartment owners buy water, and not air.

Why is the Smart Valve “Smart”?

The Smart Valve is called smart for three reasons. The first is that it contains a spring that automatically adjusts to changes in pressure, modulating the moment-by-moment changes in pressure across the meter. The second is that it is a “Really” Smart Valve because it does what the apartment manager tells it to do - it can be easily adjusted by the apartment manager or a plumber should the city water pressure change either suddenly or over time. The third reason it is called The Smart Valve is that it is NOT installed inside of the pipe. Valves that are installed inside the pipe are “less than smart” because they reduce the interior diameter of the pipe and unnecessarily constrict flow.

One Last Benefit - Maybe One Less Leak

There is one more benefit to The Smart Valve. One apartment manager’s nightmare is unknown slow water leaks. As such controlling the degree of pressure surges just might eliminate that one or two quick connect failures behind a refrigerator or elsewhere that can cause thousands of dollars in damage.

While there is no way to measure how many times The Smart Valve may save you money by modulating a surge that could cause a leak, we know that if it eliminates just one leak - that is just icing on the cake of saving you and your tenants money each and every month.

The Smart Valve i sUPC (Uniform Plumbing Code) Approved.