IoT innovations in buildings: targeting sanitary, sensors and heating
08 November 2021
Members of the IQRF Alliance bring, among other things, solutions in the field of smart sanitary technology and heating, thanks to monitoring and management.
The issue of smart buildings has recently become more and more common, especially in connection with the rising costs of energy and human labour. Some processes can be optimized, which makes the operation cheaper and more efficient.
Sanitary technology reveals a lot
The company SANELA s.r.o. came to the market with innovative products in the field of sanitary technology like smart faucets and automatically flushed urinals, equipped with IQRF® wireless communication. Reports on the frequency of use of individual devices are sent to the central control application, where they serve as a foundation for ensuring sufficient cleaning and replenishment of hygiene products. It is obvious that sanitary facilities, which are used more heavily, need to be cleaned more often and supplemented with for example soap and towels. Alternatively, the level of soap can be measured directly in the dispensers, which are equipped with the necessary sensors. This will prevent a shortage of supplies or the useless utilization of staff. As a result, there is a need for a smaller number of cleaning workers who operate the sanitary facilities, without any reduction in quality. With smart driving, everything goes smoothly and at a lower cost.
Even not using some faucets can be a problem. If the water pipes are not regularly flushed and lukewarm water is kept in them, dangerous bacteria such as legionella can multiply there, causing so-called Legionnaires' disease or Pontiac fever. It thrives best in a humid and warm environment with temperatures in the range of 20–45 °C, where after 4 hours each bacteria multiplies into two new ones. After inhalation of bacteria dispersed in a water aerosol into the lungs and their multiplication, severe pneumonia or influenza-like illnesses can appear, especially in people with a weakened immune system.
Therefore, the company has added to its monitoring application a warning system in case of long-term non-use of some batteries and the possibility of remote flushing.
You can see the technical parameters of the products on the IQRF Alliance Marketplace.
Sensors give a better overview of buildings
Not only the above-mentioned sanitary equipment offers the possibility of remote monitoring. Buildings are complex objects where you can monitor many other interesting parameters and then make the most of them.
Thanks to wireless transmission and battery operation, you can place these small, unobtrusive boxes wherever it is appropriate and necessary. They are useful in helping to analyze the use of the indoor environment.
The wireless system IQAROS was introduced by the company MICRORISC s.r.o. and it includes heat and humidity sensors. It is mainly designed for various warehouses, factories, establishments, but also medical homes, hospitals and pharmacies. Temperature differs depending on the height the sensor is placed in, the presence of windows and doors, the orientation of a room and so on. If you store food, medicines, or manufacture electronics, you need to be constantly aware of the temperature and humidity in your storage. It is not enough to rely on a worker entrusted with the measurement of the parameters once in a while, even if it is in different places and heights. With such a process it will be much difficult to prove the rightness of set parameters for storing or manufacturing, for example during an audit.
The system collects data every 4 minutes, it is locally autonomous and fully ready from the production. You set your monitored range – minimum and maximum – for temperature and humidity, and in case they are exceeded, you are instantly notified via email. In the same way, the system sends electronically signed reports every day and week to document the state of the environment. Then it is not a problem for your customers or inspections to prove that your environment meets the prescribed limits.
It is possible to use partner cloud services for remote monitoring of air parameters in the building or providing public notice boards with graphs. For example, companies Logimic s.r.o. and The Cloud Provider s.r.o., who can work with the system and tailor everything you need. Let's take a look at some of the features and designs.
In the picture, you can see a public dashboard prepared for the client (Swimming pool Na Fialce) by the company Logimic.
With the help of a solution from The Cloud Provider, you have up-to-date information on monitored quantities in a clear website and mobile application. The IoT Cloud platform connects selected sensors and sends defined data for processing. In case of discrepancy with the set parameters of the application, it will automatically notify the competent persons. It is also possible to look back at the history of data, incident records and reports for individual periods. These serve, for example, as documents for proving compliance with the requirements of food safety standards (eg HACCP, IFS Food, BRC and others).
It is also important to monitor other parameters in buildings. Other common things that should be monitored are CO2 (carbon dioxide) or VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) concentrations. VOCs and CO2 are released into the air during exhalation, VOCs can also have other sources such as cooking, cleaning detergents, coatings, various technologies, etc.
Nitrogen oxides are formed in the outdoor environment during the combustion of fossil fuels, such as heating plants or power plants, another important source is also automobile transport. High concentrations of all these substances are harmful to human health.
Fine dust particles smaller than 2.5 μm already pass through the nasal cavity to the bronchi and cause serious health complications with prolonged and regular exposure. They arise mainly during combustion in the energy industry, in households or during car traffic. Sensors of these and other substances are supplied by Protronix s.r.o. company. They can be added to the IQAROS system as other types of sensors and thus use already prepared visualizations, warnings and regular messages.
The advantage of sensors with IQRF® communication using so-called beaming in their operation is the long battery life. They can run on a regular battery for more than 10 years while providing data on measured values every minute.
And how does the IQAROS system work?
In the IQAROS system, the network consists of one IoT gateway, temperature and humidity sensors (or others from partners), and aggregating repeaters.
Everything uses IQRF® wireless communication. In our conditions, the transmission takes place on the unlicensed band with a frequency of 868 MHz, as a result, you don't have to pay any license fees for the transmission in the IQRF® network.
The sensors continuously measure the given parameters and send them every minute by beaming to their surroundings, where the data are captured by aggregating repeaters. After transmitting values, the sensors "fall asleep", thus saving the battery, and after a minute they "wake up" again and transmit another data. The aggregating repeaters form a local backbone network, they are connected to the electrical network (socket, ceiling), collect data from the sensors and provide it to the gateway, which addresses them at regular intervals.
This way they virtualize sensors that "sleep" most of the time. There is a local application running on the gateway, which has a section with graphs and a section with settings. The person in charge sets the limits of monitored values, communication e-mail and other parameters in the secure zone. Then there is no need to monitor the system further. If the limit values are exceeded, the system itself automatically sends a notification to the entered e-mail.
The sensors are offered in three different designs.
The basic Industrial sensor with a semi-permeable membrane and IP40 protection measures relative humidity and temperature in the range of -20 °C to 70 °C. The sensor is designed for operation in a non-freezing environment without moisture condensation.
In buildings, a range of tens of meters can be expected (depending on the environment and obstacles), in open space up to 400 m, which is many times more than the Wi-Fi signal.
The manufacturer provides a 7-year battery warranty when operating the sensor in the temperature range of 0 °C to 45 °C, assuming that the relative humidity did not exceed 80%.
The sensor works on an AA battery (3.6 V, 2400 mAh). The long service life is due to the economical use of the battery during beaming.
The Industrial Pro sensor works similarly, but thanks to the separation of its own electronics from the sensors, that are located in an extender, it allows the measurement of humidity in full-scale. The values are not affected by the sensor electronics and the response to environmental changes is faster than with the Industrial type.
The Industrial X sensor can be used for measurements in water, aggressive or freezing environments. It is an industrial temperature sensor in a box with a connector and waterproof IP67 protection. The box is equipped with a connector to which the temperature sensor is connected with a cable.
The temperature can be measured in the range of -40 °C to +85 °C. At temperatures below -20 °C, the cable with the sensor must be fixed to prevent the plastic of the cable from breaking.
The 7-year battery warranty is provided by the manufacturer, assuming that the sensor control unit (excluding the sensor on the cable) has been used in the temperature range of 0 °C to 45 °C at all times.
Economical heating
The system for monitoring internal parameters is one of the important parts of a smart building, but without smart management, it would be difficult to automate other processes and make them more effective.
The company AUSTYN International s.r.o. is a long-term expert in the field of heating with a focus on saving the heating medium. They can equip production halls with gas and electric infrared radiators, which can optimally distribute heat exactly where it should be. They can also equip hotels, offices, schools, etc. with a control system for the hot-water and ventilation system, including radio-controlled thermostatic heads, sensors and control modules.
The "vandal-resistant" design on the heads ensures that unauthorized persons will not manipulate the adjustment of the heads. The room temperature is set remotely depending on the monitored temperature or other parameters.
An interesting example is the hotel Patria in Slovakia with thermostatic heads in individual rooms. Not only can the heads be remotely controlled, but they are also connected to the hotel's reservation system. The system counts on the arrival of the guest and starts heating the room to a comfortable temperature. After the guest leaves the hotel, the system automatically sets the temperature to the economic level. There is no need to rely on the staff to set a lower room temperature. In addition, the system can detect sensors with an open window, in which case the heating is automatically reduced.
Experts from the company routinely work with recuperation and air conditioning systems and can deal with such challenges as the facilities for performing so-called "hot yoga". Participants in such exercises are sensitive to even the smallest changes in temperature and deviations from the higher temperature, which is set in the room for this purpose. They ensure the supply of fresh preheated air through a sophisticated heat recuperation system.
By combining suitable sensors and control units, an optimal climate in buildings can be achieved. It is ideal to combine devices with the same communication, which allows two-way traffic, both to collect data and to send control signals to the network. However, this is not a condition, the systems can be interconnected. In the above examples, you have been introduced to some of the solutions of the IQRF Alliance members. Further case studies and products can be found at www.iqrfalliance.org. If you have devices that you would like to provide with IQRF® wireless communication or you have an application, IoT gateway, or customers to whom you would like to offer a suitable solution using one of the listed products, contact us. We gladly welcome new innovative members to our community.
Ivona Spurná, ivona.spurna@iqrfalliance.org.
