Most cooling lines in a plant have no sensor on them. Not because sensors are expensive, but because getting power and data to one more point is.

Industrial water systems watch the big equipment: the pumps, the chillers, the main meter. The lines in between mostly run blind. Here’s how to spot the ones worth watching.

If you manage an industrial facility, you’re in the business of heat management. The chiller is watched. Most of the lines it feeds are not.

The building controls watch the chiller. A water-treatment company checks the tower once a month. The lines in between mostly run blind.

On a farm, the water system stretches for miles, and most of it gets checked from a truck. The far end of the line has no power, so it has no sensor.