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Smart protection against water damage

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IoT Use Case - grandcentrix + REHAU
8 minutes Reading time
8 minutes Reading time

Rehau has developed the RE.GUARD 2.0 water safety system in collaboration with grandcentrix. Building on the experience of the first generation, it offers improved functionality and user-friendliness. The system in the water pipe detects burst water pipes and leaks at an early stage and prevents costly damage by automatically shutting them off. A stand-alone water sensor provides additional safety in the bathroom or laundry room.

Rehau Group: Tradition and innovation

For over 75 years, Rehau has been working towards a sustainable and innovative future, in line with the motto “Engineering progress. Enhancing lives.” The company was involved in major innovations such as the first plastic window profile and the bumper for the VW Passat in the 1970s. Today, around a third of all cars are fitted with Rehau bumpers, which are now equipped with integrated sensors and cameras.

The automotive sector remains one of the most important business areas, supplemented by products for building services, in particular durable plastic pipes, which used to be made of copper or steel. Rehau is also the global market leader in turf heating systems for sports stadiums and supplies numerous preliminary products for the furniture industry.

RE.GUARD 2.0: Intelligent solution for leakage protection

The trend towards smart home technology with intelligent solutions for monitoring and control is growing steadily. The early detection of leaks and burst water pipes and the ability to react quickly to minimize expensive consequential damage is particularly important.

With RE.GUARD, Rehau has further developed a modern product for water safety. The focus of product development for the second generation was particularly on the user experience and the additional benefits for customers, such as analyzing water consumption and water hygiene.

Good project management and a motivated team are essential for the product development process, especially when agile development is used. What counts is the result, the product and satisfied users. Grandcentrix is exactly the right partner to achieve this goal.

Onboarding at its best

In contrast to the previous solution, it quickly became clear to Rehau that the new device should be networked via WiFi and that the onboarding process should also be supported via Bluetooth. This combination makes it possible to guide customers with no prior technical knowledge through the onboarding process in just a few steps in order to connect the device to the internet.

As a benchmark for intuitive usability, grandcentrix and Rehau looked to the products of a well-known Californian company that is known for its exemplary user guidance. The app was consistently developed platform-specifically for Android and iOS in the respective programming environment in order to support all native features and ensure the best possible stability and response speed of the app.

Real-time alerting of all water leakage types

RE.GUARD detects various types of leaks: drip leaks are detected by monitoring the water pressure, which triggers an alarm if the pressure in the pipe system gradually drops. This is particularly important as such leaks are often detected late and can cause serious structural damage. Water pipe bursts are detected by an integrated ultrasonic flow meter.

The app allows individual settings for alarm limits based on time and water volume. A self-learning algorithm distinguishes regular from exceptional events. In addition, the system offers external moisture sensors that can be installed in various locations, such as under a sink or in the washroom, for comprehensive monitoring.

RE.GUARD

Added value beyond leakage detection

The smart device provides consumption statistics based on the recorded flow rate. This provides the customer with a graphical overview of consumption by time of day and trend over time. As a result, the user develops a better awareness of resource-conserving behavior.

RE.GUARD also informs users about potential contamination of pipes and sends water hygiene warnings as push notifications. This is important in buildings that are unoccupied for long periods, such as vacation homes. The product and app thus become a regular companion for users.

Data security and reliability

The cloud backend developed by grandcentrix is hosted in Germany. With AWS, a service provider known for the highest standards, grandcentrix has set up an instance in the Frankfurt data cluster that meets the highest security requirements. This means that Rehau’s customers can be sure that their data will not fall into the wrong hands and that no external access is possible.

aws Logo

Agile development for optimal customer orientation

Right from the start, Rehau and grandcentrix focused on agile and parallel development of hardware, cloud backend and app. In addition to intensive market research, customer feedback on the first product version was also taken into account. Early tests in the water lab allowed valuable user feedback to be integrated directly into the ongoing development.

On this basis, the user interface of the app was streamlined and the design optimized. The app is now clearly divided into three sections: a dashboard for an overview of all important parameters, a section for notifications and another section for user settings.

REHAU device

Continuous innovation and customer focus

The publication of iterative releases, taking customer feedback into account, and the integration of new features are intended to ensure that the app is continuously adapted to the changing requirements of the market and the wishes of customers, so that customer satisfaction is guaranteed in the long term. Security and user convenience are always at the forefront.

Text taken over from original – grandcentrix

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