Saving this summer with IoT: Energy, water and light

Summer is one of the most exciting times of the year. School is out, the weather is great and the countdown to vacation begins. But while the summer brings with it a lot of fun activities, it also brings the potential for higher energy and water consumption, which equals higher bills for personal, business and commercial real estate uses. It’s inevitable that commercial businesses will consume more energy and water during June, July and August with increased usage of cooling systems, lighting and water, but technology can help. The smallest changes can make a huge difference in lowering energy costs and, thanks to smart building technologies offering remote real-time monitoring and control of buildings, it’s possible.

Let’s talk more about how this works.

LoRaWAN is a low-power, wide-area networking protocol based on LoRa technology that enables remote and real-time monitoring and control of buildings. There are hundreds of low-cost sensors always collecting data that is passed through a gateway to a cloud-based server. From there, the data is analyzed by third-party applications putting out real-time metrics which are assessed and generate output responses, such as an alert or action.

LoRa devices and the LoRaWAN protocol enable a number of smart building applications, such as smart thermostats, sprinklers, door locks, and water leakage detection sensors (humidity and temperature). The latter, for example, enables building maintenance professionals to control indoor climates and conserve water and power through predictive analytics, allowing damage to be detected early, thus reducing the cost and potential harm that could come to other sensitive equipment. LoRa technology’s long-range, low-power capabilities also enable a reduction in network infrastructure costs, allowing for easy adaption and implementation.

Outfitting a commercial building with smart devices can lead to significant cost-savings and higher efficiency. This summer, as the heat rises, smart thermostats can be used to auto-adjust indoor temperatures according to preset preferences to ensure employees are comfortable in the work environment and the building is not subject to fluctuating temperatures. Smart outlets reduce electricity consumption by remotely controlling lights, water heaters, humidifiers and anything with a plug, enabling building managers to turn them off and on with a mobile phone. Streamlining this process enables building managers, owners and service providers to view smart devices remotely and ensure all the things within the smart building are continuously connected. LoRa-enabled humidity and temperature sensors are another effective way to monitor water usage and prevent damage due leaks, as they share real-time alerts allowing businesses and homeowners to act fast and address any issues that arise.

With the right technology in place, commercial building managers can make sure employees are working in a comfortable, safe environment all while reducing cost and increasing connectivity. These devices are an economical way to take on the task of conserving energy, showcasing yet another example of the benefits IoT has for smart building maintenance during the peak of summer.

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