CE Pro December 2022 - 39

countertop pitcher filters to
undercounter reverse-osmosis
filters, to whole-house
filters that supply water to
all indoor locations. Most of
these devices have replaceable
filters, and the evidence
of what has been removed
may be visible when the
filters are replaced.
Some more powerful
point-of-use or whole-home
filters for integrators come
from companies such as
Bluewater and Elite filters
from Refresh Smart Home
(refreshsmarthome.com),
Aquasana (aquasana.com) or
Pentair (pentair.com). Unlike
traditional water " softeners, "
these don't use salt and
don't give water that disturbing
" slippery " quality.
Reverse-osmosis (RO)
filters require a storage tank,
so although whole-home RO
filters are available, they are
very large and expensive. A
whole-home solution might
consist of a particle filter at
the water entrance, followed
by a free-flow multistage
passive filter, then adding RO
filters at points where water
will be used for drinking.
Recently, devices have
become available for homeowners
that can monitor
pool water quality continuously,
and alert users if
chemical imbalances are
detected, and although
sensors are available for
potable water measurement,
the existing systems are still
designed for commercial installation.
However, residential
water-quality monitoring
systems keep popping up on
Kickstarter and at CES, so
commercially viable systems
should be available soon.
Sensors exist for Total Dissolved
Solids (TDS), specific
chemical contaminants, pH,
and turbidity (clarity), but biological
contamination is difficult
to detect via sensors,
so filtration is still the best
approach. Installing TDS and
pressure sensors before and
after the filters can provide
indications of how the filters
are performing, as well as
notifications when the filters
need replacement. CE Pro
ORRIN CHARM has been
in the smart home industry
since 1989 as a system
designer and engineer. His
consulting company, Charm
& Imagination, is based in
Woodland Hills, Calif.
My Adventures
with Flowmeters
I have been interested in water conservation for a long time,
and as part of the process, I've installed several various
flowmeters, from $10 Chinese imports to whole-home
systems from Flume, Flo, Hunter and others. They have all
provided valuable information and insights, but a few experiences
stand out:
1. Within hours of installing the Flume meter, I received
an app alert saying there was a leak! I already had a Flo
meter on the indoor water feed, so I assumed it was an
error. Tech support suggested I take a video of the meter,
http://www.refreshsmarthome.com http://www.aquasana.com http://www.pentair.com http://www.cepro.com
CE Pro December 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of CE Pro December 2022
