Making buildings smart with IoT

20.04.2020 by Ümit Günes

IoT sensors ensure optimal room conditions

Building management for schools, hotels or large offices for hundreds of people can be highly challenging. He who upgrades to the Internet of Things can ensure better security, comfort and transparency.

Too hot in the summer, too cold in the winter, too dark, too stuffy: People shouldn’t have to put up with such conditions in hotels, offices and schools where people live, work and learn. Office buildings, hotels, daycare centers and schools are currently largely empty. Many building managers and operators are using this time for renovations because no ongoing operation would be impaired. In that regard, opportunity for a technological upgrade of the building also arises.

Fortunately, the Internet of Things (IoT) offers many possibilities: Wireless sensors measure room temperature, humidity, brightness and CO₂ levels. They are easy to retrofit and can make buildings smart at little cost. The sensor readings are transmitted to the cloud via an encrypted Internet connection. Special software analyzes the data almost in real-time and visualizes them on a user’s display. Should certain thresholds be breached, the cloud application alerts, for example, the property manager. She can call up the data at any time and send service personnel or the caretaker whenever – and wherever – they are needed.

Building Monitoring & Analytics

Building Monitoring & Analytics from Deutsche Telekom comes preconfigured and is ideal for retrofitting buildings. The simple retrofit solution consists of various sensors and access to the Cloud of Things, the IoT platform of Telekom. The battery-operated sensors can be mounted on doors, windows, desks and walls. Besides detecting motion by people, as well as the opening and closing of windows and doors, they can also measure temperature, humidity, light, noise and CO₂ levels.

The Internet of Things also enables better utilization of rooms, thus improving the building’s sustainability. When offices are networked with motion detectors, as well as door and window sensors, it’s much easier to determine the actual occupancy and optimize it. Because quite often, booked conference rooms go empty. The result? Firms have more rooms for meetings than they truly need, wasting money for extra space, heating and electricity. Intelligent sensors can recognize how many people are in a room and alter the temperature accordingly. Motion detector data can also be used to optimize the cleaning of a building’s rest rooms.

IOT BOOSTS SECURITY

The sensors also ensure greater security for buildings. Are the doors and windows closed at night? Is someone still in the walk-in cold storage area after work and are the lights still on in the chem lab? These questions can be answered remotely using IoT solutions like Building Monitoring & Analytics (see box) rather than requiring guards on duty to make extra rounds. An advantage especially if the building is empty for weeks or even months, as is currently the case. The sensors can also be used to monitor and document access to high security and risk areas.

RELIABLE WIRELESS IN BUILDINGS WITH NB-IOT

In order to transmit data, the sensors in a building have to be connected to a network. One networking solution, for example, is the open communication protocol LoRaWAN Regular wireless provides the greatest flexibility and reach; however, it has more firepower than is required for simple tasks and therefore also too expensive. Therefore, the industry has developed NarrowBand IoT (NB-IoT) as a cost-effective new technology. The new wireless standard based on LTE was specially conceived for transmitting small amounts of data in an energy-efficient fashion. The result is that the appropriate wireless modules for the sensors can be produced at low cost and run for several years with a standard battery.

Moreover, NB-IoT is also a perfect network for intelligent meters for power, water, gas and heat. These smart meters are often located in underground areas with weak or no wireless reception. But the impressive building penetration of NB-IoT can reliably send readings from a cellar to a wireless mast. It can do this even without a gateway, saving the need for an extra hardware component. And so the system uses intelligent sensors, networking with the Internet of Things, effective connectivity and an IoT platform in the cloud to turn a regular office into a smart building.

Further information:

Ümit Günes Ümit Günes
Marketing Manager IoT

Ümit has been working at T-Systems since 2015 and knows a great deal about many facets of the Internet of Things. He is particularly interested in topics related to the digitalization of the business world. For the blog, he reports on new developments and trends in the IoT world that offer real added value for customers.

Ümit Günes

Ümit Günes
Marketing Manager IoT

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