Updated October 15, 2026. Data: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, patent application records, filings 2012–2025. Applications usually become public about 18 months after filing, so 2024 and especially 2025 counts are still filling in. Next update: spring 2027.
Only about 20 to 45 U.S. patent applications a year are for systems that detect a water leak in a building and shut off the supply. The biggest filer since 2021 is an insurer, State Farm, with 17.
Water damage is one of the most common home insurance claims, which helps explain why an insurer invents leak shutoff systems. This is a small field: plenty of leak sensors are sold, but few new inventions are filed each year.
Applications filed each year
Every year
Click a column to sort.
| Year filed | Applications | From small inventors and small companies | Small share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 16 | 8 | 50% |
| 2013 | 14 | 10 | 71% |
| 2014 | 18 | 13 | 72% |
| 2015 | 32 | 16 | 50% |
| 2016 | 34 | 19 | 56% |
| 2017 | 42 | 30 | 71% |
| 2018 | 45 | 24 | 53% |
| 2019 | 35 | 17 | 49% |
| 2020 | 35 | 14 | 40% |
| 2021 | 27 | 11 | 41% |
| 2022 | 21 | 7 | 33% |
| 2023 | 35 | 11 | 31% |
| 2024 (still filling in) | 18 | 7 | 39% |
| 2025 (still filling in) | 18 | 8 | 44% |
Who files the most
Top filers, 2021–2025, counting each application once under the first company or person named:
- State Farm: 17
- WATTS REGULATOR CO.: 9
- OCTOPUS ENERGY HEATING LIMITED: 6
- AS America, Inc.: 4
- micas AG: 3
- WCM Industries, Inc.: 3
- THE UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE: 3
- Sentinel Hydrosolutions, LLC: 3
Small inventors and small companies filed 39% of these applications from 2019 to 2023, compared with 30% of all U.S. patent applications.
What it means for plumbers
- Installing shutoff valves is plumbing work. Some insurers give discounts for them. See how to start a plumbing business.
- Small inventors are active. They filed 39% of applications in 2019–2023, above the 30% average for all patents.
- Water damage claims are common. Before you install valves and sensors, review insurance for plumbing businesses.
Starting a plumbing business?
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How we counted
- Source: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, application records for patent applications filed since 2012, searched 2026-10-15.
- What’s counted: applications listed under safety devices in building water pipes, such as automatic shutoffs (code E03B 7/071). Each application is counted once, in the year it was filed, even if it is listed in several categories.
- Applications, not granted patents. Many applications are later rejected or dropped.
- Recent years are incomplete. Most applications stay private for about 18 months, and some are never published unless granted. Counts for 2024 and 2025 will grow.
- Small inventors are applicants that paid reduced “small entity” or “micro entity” fees: individuals, companies with fewer than 500 employees, universities and nonprofits.
- Top filers are matched on the first applicant’s name. We merged obvious spelling variants, but related companies (for example a parent and its U.S. arm) are listed separately.
- We checked the category by hand. In a random sample of 15 applications filed in 2024, 12 were leak detection or automatic shutoff systems for buildings; the others were a cooking appliance, an aircraft water system and a backflow monitor. A general leak-testing category (G01M 3) was mostly pipelines, gas and vehicles, so we did not use it.
Sources
Cite this data
Reporters and bloggers may use these numbers and charts. Please credit StartBusinessByState and link to this page.
Source: StartBusinessByState, “An Insurer Is the Top Inventor of Home Water Shutoff Systems,” https://startbusinessbystate.com/water-leak-detection-patents/ (updated October 15, 2026).
FAQ
Who files the most water leak shutoff patents?
State Farm, with 17 applications in 2021–2025, according to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Where is this data from?
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office publishes records for every published patent application, including the categories examiners assign and whether the applicant paid small-business fees.
Last updated October 15, 2026 by StartBusinessByState.