Every home is unique. From the number of residents and daily routines to where your system is installed—whether in a busy household, a modern office, or a creative studio—your water usage footprint is entirely your own. That is why the smawatec app gives you unparalleled freedom to modify your leakage parameters to fit your lifestyle.
Depending on your location, your local plumbing professional can provide a highly accurate analysis of your situation. However, to help you self-reflect on your daily domestic water usage and confidently adjust your smawatec settings, we have compiled the following reference values.
Section 1: Everyday Fixtures at a Glance
When fully open, standard household fixtures consume water at predictable rates. Use this baseline to estimate your daily flow and see how your home compares to international water-efficiency standards.
Fixture | Average Flow Rate | Standard Duration |
Faucet (Washing Hands) | 4 to 6 L/min | 30 to 60 seconds |
Faucet (Washing Dishes) | 6 to 9 L/min | 2 to 5 minutes |
Shower | 9 to 12 L/min | 5 to 10 minutes |
Toilet Refilling | 6 to 9 L/min | 45 to 60 seconds |
Dishwasher (Fill Cycle) | 5 to 8 L/min | 1 to 2 minutes per cycle |
Washing Machine (Fill Cycle) | 10 to 15 L/min | 2 to 3 minutes per cycle |
Watering the Garden | 15 to 20 L/min | 15 to 60 minutes |
Section 2: Pipe Break Flow Rates (DN20 System)
When a pipe fails, water loss escalates rapidly based on your system’s water pressure. Here is an estimated look at what different leaks produce in a standard DN20 (3/4-inch) pipe setup:
Leak Type | System Pressure | Estimated Water Loss |
Large Pipe Break | 2.5 bar | ~70 L/min |
Large Pipe Break | 2.0 bar | ~60 L/min |
Large Pipe Break | 1.5 bar | ~50 L/min |
Medium Crack | 2.5 bar | ~25 L/min |
Medium Crack | 2.0 bar | ~20 L/min |
Medium Crack | 1.5 bar | ~15 L/min |
(Note: These estimates assume unrestricted flow near the source. Real-world flow rates will be lower depending on the length of your pipes, the number of bends, and internal calcification.)
How this shapes your protection strategy: Notice how a large pipe break, even at a lower pressure of 1.5 bar, still pushes out around 50 L/min. This is exactly why the Smawatec DN20 Pipe Break Alert defaults to 30 L/min—it is low enough to catch catastrophic failures instantly, even in systems with weaker water pressure.
Conversely, a medium crack at 1.5 bar might only leak 15 L/min. This wouldn’t trigger the 30 L/min Pipe Break threshold, but it would easily be caught by your Custom Leak Alert, which defaults to 2.5 L/min over 45 minutes. Working together, these overlapping safety nets ensure that both massive bursts and moderate leaks are caught before they cause severe damage.
Section 3: Customizing Your Smawatec App Parameters
Smawatec offers four distinct leak prevention settings. Two operate quietly in the background to keep you informed, while the other two are fully editable to protect your property actively.
Smawatec DN20 Flowstopper Settings
Informative Alerts (Non-Editable, Toggle On/Off):
- Mini Leak Alert: Monitored continuously by our system. It detects small flows above 100 ml/min over a very long period without a stop. This indicates a constant, hidden micro-leak in your system. Action: Informative only; the valve will not auto-shut. We recommend keeping this turned on.
- Abnormal Flow Alert: Similar to the mini leak, but designed for slightly higher volumes. It triggers if there is continuous flow for 3 hours without a stop, indicating an appliance or fixture has been left running. Action: Informative only; the valve will not auto-shut. We recommend keeping this turned on.
Protective Alerts (Editable & Auto-Shut Capable):
- Custom Leak Alert: Designed to catch moderate leaks or cracks.
- Stock Setting: 2.5 L/min for 45 minutes.
- Function: Informs you if water runs continuously for 45 minutes at this rate.
- Your Control: You can edit the flow rate, the time limit, and decide whether the valve should automatically shut off.
- Auto-shut inactive by default.
- Pipe Break Alert: Designed to detect and instantly stop massive water loss.
- Stock Setting: 30 L/min for 10 minutes.
- Function: Identifies the signature flow of a burst pipe.
- Your Control: Fully editable parameters (time and flow rate) and you can toggle the auto-shutoff feature on or off.
- Auto-shut active by default.
Smawatec DN40 Flowstopper Settings
Designed for higher-capacity plumbing systems, the DN40 scales up the detection thresholds appropriately.
Informative Alerts (Non-Editable, Toggle On/Off):
- Mini Leak Alert: Detects small, continuous flows above 200 ml/min over a very long period. Action: Informative only; valve will not auto-shut.
- Abnormal Flow Alert: Detects continuous moderate usage over 3 hours without a stop. Action: Informative only; valve will not auto-shut.
Protective Alerts (Editable & Auto-Shut Capable):
- Custom Leak Alert: Designed for moderate leaks.
- Stock Setting: 20 L/min for 45 minutes.
- Your Control: Fully editable. You decide the parameters and whether the valve should automatically shut.
- Auto-shut inactive by default.
- Pipe Break Alert: Designed for catastrophic failure prevention.
- Stock Setting: 80 L/min for 10 minutes.
- Your Control: Fully editable parameters and auto-shut toggle.
- Auto-shut active by default.
A Note on System Protection
In all cases, your plumbing professional knows best! Ideal settings depend heavily on your regional water pressure, your specific on-site plumbing system, and local waterworks regulations.
Smawatec provides experience-based recommendations and powerful data analytics to help you manage your home, but it cannot completely prevent all water damage or detect every possible type of leak.
