Water damage is one of the most expensive and disruptive risks in commercial and multi-tenant buildings.

Insurers report that in many condo buildings, up to 95 percent of damage incidents are caused by water leaks and nearly half of all insurance claims are water related. Burst pipes in winter, leaks in technical rooms, unnoticed drips in basements or under raised floors. All of these can go undetected for hours or days. By the time someone notices, you are already dealing with damaged walls, ruined equipment, mold risk, and tenants or businesses that cannot use the space. This is exactly the type of problem that IoT leak detection and a platform like Kilo are built to solve.

Below is a detailed look at how you can use Dragino leak sensors together with the Kilo IoT Platform to detect incidents early, notify the right people, and reduce damage and downtime.

Why traditional leak detection is not enough

Most commercial buildings still rely on very basic mechanisms for leak detection.

Someone happens to spot a puddle in a basement
A cleaner notices water near HVAC units
A tenant phones property management after damage has already occurred

By that point, you have already lost time and money. Water may have reached electrical cabinets, server racks, or structural elements that are expensive to repair. In multi-tenant buildings, the root cause is often unclear, which leads to disputes over who pays.
At the same time, many critical zones are hard to inspect manually. Typical examples.

Technical rooms with limited access
Areas under raised floors in offices and data rooms
Basements with poor lighting
Pipe runs behind equipment
Long corridors with HVAC or sprinkler infrastructure

These areas need continuous monitoring, not occasional walkthroughs. That is where LoRaWAN connected leak sensors and an IoT platform add real value.

Hardware foundation. Dragino leak detection sensors

For practical deployments, Kilo works with a range of LoRaWAN sensors. Two devices from Dragino are especially relevant for leak detection and water level monitoring.

Dragino LWL03A rope type leak sensor

The Dragino LWL03A is a LoRaWAN rope type water leak controller. You place the sensor with a dedicated leak detection cable on the floor or along a perimeter. When water touches the cable, the device reports an alarm over LoRaWAN to your IoT platform.

Key characteristics from the manufacturer documentation and device listings.

Rope type cable that detects water contact along its length
Battery powered, designed for long lifetime in the field
Periodic status messages plus event messages on leak and leak cleared
Support for EU868 and other LoRaWAN bands

⠀Typical placement zones.

Along walls in basements
Around HVAC units and chillers
Under raised floors with cable trays
Around server racks or UPS rooms

⠀Once installed, the cable works like an always-on contact surface for water.

Dragino MDS200 radar distance sensor

The Dragino MDS200 is primarily marketed as a LoRaWAN microwave radar distance sensor, often used for parking and level measurement. It measures the distance to a surface using 24 GHz radar and sends that value over LoRaWAN.
In a leak detection context, it can be placed above a sump, drain, or small pit to monitor the height of incoming water. For example.

Sumps in technical rooms or basement corridors
Drainage channels near loading docks
Pump pits in underground garages

A rise in water level is detected as a decreasing distance value. This is then interpreted by the Kilo Platform to trigger alerts if water reaches a defined threshold. For a general product overview see manufacturer information such as dragino.com/products/lorawan-sensor/item/189-mds200.html

The role of the Kilo IoT Platform

Hardware alone only tells you that a sensor has seen something. Kilo turns that information into a workflow that building and facility teams can actually rely on.

Centralized monitoring for all leak zones
Every Dragino sensor sends its measurements to Kilo through LoRaWAN or integrated network partners.

On the Kilo Platform you can.

See all leak and water level sensors on a single map or dashboard
Group sensors by site, floor, or building zone
View status at a glance for basements, plant rooms, data areas, and corridors
Store full history to analyze recurring issues

Instead of logging into multiple systems or waiting for emails from different vendors, facility teams get a single operational view.

Alerts that reach the right people at the right time

The real value starts when rules are configured. For a Dragino LWL03A rope sensor, a rule might be.

If the sensor reports a leak event
And the location is tagged as “server room”
Then send an SMS to the on call engineer and an email to building management

⠀For an MDS200 water level sensor, a rule might be.

If water level reaches a defined height in a sump
Then open a ticket in the facility management system via webhook
And send a push or email alert with the latest readings and location link

Kilo supports this type of logic so that events are routed directly to the people who can act. No one has to watch dashboards all day.

From detection to action with automation hooks

In many buildings, there is already existing automation equipment such as BMS controllers, pump controllers, or motorized shutoff valves.
Kilo cannot physically close a valve by itself, but it can act as the decision layer that triggers external systems. For example.

Send a webhook to a building management server that controls valves
Publish an MQTT message into an existing automation bus
Notify an integration microservice that then talks to pumps or alarms

This approach keeps Kilo focused on connectivity, logic, and visibility while letting integrators decide how to connect to local control hardware in a safe and certified way.

Example scenario. Protecting a commercial basement

Consider a mixed-use building with offices on upper floors and technical rooms in the basement. The basement contains.

A main cold water distribution manifold
Fire suppression pipes
An electrical room
Telecom racks and internet equipment

A single burst pipe here can flood multiple rooms in a short time.
A practical Kilo based setup could look like this.

Install Dragino LWL03A sensors with leak cables on the floor around the manifold, near key pipe runs, and along walls leading to electrical rooms.
Install one Dragino MDS200 above a sump or drain channel near an exit point where water would collect.
Connect all sensors over LoRaWAN to Kilo, using existing gateways or a dedicated gateway in the building.
Configure rules in Kilo.
- Any rope cable leak event generates a “high severity” alert with location.
- Rising water level in the sump triggers “warning” and then “critical” alerts as thresholds are crossed.
Visualize all leak zones on a Kilo dashboard for the facility team and building owner.

When the first leak occurs, Kilo receives the event and immediately pushes alerts to the responsible people. If the flow continues and water reaches the sump, water level readings confirm the severity and help teams decide whether to shut down power or call emergency services.
Events are stored, so after the incident the team can analyze exactly when the leak started and how fast it developed.

Business impact. Why this matters for owners and operators

The financial impact of water leaks goes far beyond the cost of repairs. Studies from the insurance sector show that water damage represents a very high share of claims and total losses in multi unit buildings.
For commercial owners and operators, early leak detection delivers concrete benefits.

Lower repair costs because incidents are caught in minutes instead of hours
Less disruption to tenants and business operations
Reduced risk of mold and long term structural damage
Better documentation for insurance through logged sensor data
More predictable maintenance planning because recurrent leak areas can be identified

Compared to the potential cost of a single major leak, the investment in LoRaWAN leak sensors and an IoT platform is modest. Devices like the Dragino LWL03A operate on batteries for many years and transmit over long range without the need for new wiring.

How to build a leak early warning system with Kilo

A typical project with Kilo follows a clear pattern.

Define risk zones

Identify basements, technical rooms, pump areas, and sensitive equipment rooms where leaks would cause the most damage.

Select hardware

Choose rope type sensors like Dragino LWL03A for linear perimeter coverage and radar distance sensors like Dragino MDS200 for pits and sumps. For product references see for example.

Connect over LoRaWAN

Use existing LoRaWAN gateways or add one gateway for the building. Kilo Connectivity can integrate with public and private LoRaWAN networks so data flows into Kilo Cloud.

Configure dashboards and alerts

In Kilo Cloud, create dedicated dashboards for leak monitoring and set up rules that trigger alerts for leak events and abnormal water levels.

Integrate with workflows

Connect Kilo alerts to email, SMS, ticketing systems, or building management solutions using webhooks and API based integrations so incidents are always linked to a concrete response path.

Scale step by step

Start with one building or one zone. Once the setup is validated, replicate the design across a portfolio of sites. Kilo is built for multi site management, so adding more sensors and buildings only extends your existing view.

Conclusion

Water leaks in commercial and multi tenant buildings are a predictable risk. The costs are high, yet the technology to detect and respond early already exists and is proven in the field.
By combining Dragino leak sensors with LoRaWAN connectivity and the Kilo IoT Platform, building owners and operators can move from reactive cleanup to proactive protection.
If you are planning or upgrading leak detection in basements, technical rooms, or high value areas.

Explore compatible leak sensors and water level devices in the Kilo Shop at https://shop.kiloiot.de
Connect them to the Kilo Platform at https://app.kiloiot.io to build dashboards, alerts, and automation for your sites

With the right hardware and a platform designed for operations, leak detection becomes part of your standard infrastructure rather than an afterthought.