PlumbingSoftware Feature Gap3MediumPlumbing Engineer$ implied
Plumbers lack a clean, reproducible comparison between Hunter's curve and UPC Appendix M methods for pipe sizing, leading to oversized designs and uncertainty.
Existing methods (Hunter's curve and Appendix M) are not easily comparable on the same buildings; available data is scattered in tables and not integrated into a single tool.
42
0
Opp. Score
42
Severity
3Medium
Willingness to Pay
implied
Added
Aug 21, 2026
Workarounds Described
- Used a committed script to compute values from published tables
- Manually compared Hunter's curve and Appendix M results for eight typical buildings
- Published the values only in a blog post
Implied Software Gaps
- A tool that automatically computes and compares pipe sizing methods for a given building configuration
- A database of validated examples for both methods to ensure accuracy
- An interactive platform to visualize the gap between methods across building sizes
App Concept
PipeSizePro
A web-based calculator that allows plumbing engineers to size pipes using both Hunter's curve and UPC Appendix M methods side-by-side. It provides clear comparisons and documentation, helping professionals avoid oversizing and meet code requirements.
Key Features
- Side-by-side comparison of Hunter's curve and Appendix M results
- Pre-loaded with UPC tables and IAPMO worked examples
- Adjustable building configurations (fixture counts, types)
- Exportable reports with sources and methodology
Target Users: Plumbing engineers and designers in consulting firms, as well as code officials reviewing designs
Revenue Model: Freemium: free basic calculator, $49/month for advanced features like batch comparisons and API access
Existing Solutions Mentioned
Hunter's curveUPC Appendix M
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