Creating a smart environment is impossible without a thorough, real-time awareness of conditions and fluctuations within a building. And sensors are a key component in gathering the required real-time intelligence. After the enduring impacts of the global COVID-19 pandemic, commercial building management systems are held to new standards as many companies transition back to the office. For example, occupancy sensing is important for designing smaller, more flexible workspaces for hybrid environments.
But beyond occupancy sensors, smart buildings leverage a range of other types of sensors that support Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC), air quality, maintenance, and flood prevention, to name a few. A greater number of qualitative and quantitative data translates to greater control over a building—and more profitability.
At the end of the day, property owners have one main reason to deploy smart building sensors: monetary gain. Indeed, Return on Investment (ROI) can come from a number of channels. However, other motivations stem from public safety concerns and compliance.
Clearly, there are substantial reasons to make a building “smarter.” So, let’s explore several types of sensors that make it all possible and can be used to strengthen building management systems.
People want to feel comfortable whether it’s in an office building, an apartment unit, a museum, a hotel, or somewhere else. Above all, automating a building’s heating and cooling is key to delivering comfort. HVAC systems are made smarter when they can detect temperature fluctuations in specific rooms or zones and automatically adjust accordingly. Temperature sensor use cases can even extend to something like detecting hot desks in a work office setting—to enhance resource planning and space utilization.
Humidity sensors are key to smart HVAC control, as humidity goes hand-in-hand with air quality management. The three types of humidity sensors are:
As any building manager will attest, maintaining equipment can be timely and expensive. Fortunately, maintenance sensors like Infineon’s Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled XENSIV sensors, can provide predictive maintenance and condition monitoring for an abundance of equipment and systems. Maintenance sensing extends to monitoring smart building components like:
Occupancy sensing and presence control technology shipments will grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 47% between 2019 and 2030, with nearly 80 million shipments expected in 2030. That’s a far cry from the 1 million shipments in 2019. The underlying motivations for adopting these technologies come from safety occupation limits, energy management, and emerging concerns like air quality and space allocation.
Below is a further breakdown of occupancy sensing and presence control technologies for building management.
High- or Low-Resolution Cameras: More functionality than other sensors and also enable real-time visual confirmation of occupancy status, individual tracking, and object recognition. On the downside, this deployment requires expensive upfront costs and can be seen as an invasion of privacy.
Passive Infrared (PIR) Motion Sensors: Usually the least expensive sensor for monitoring movement and occupancy sensing. As the pyroelectric sensors detect heat energy in the Line of Sight (LoS), it activates an action like setting an alarm or turning on a light.
Pressure Sensors: Installed at the threshold of an area, these types of sensors provide data on foot traffic, occupancy, and where clear entry/exit points exist.
LiDAR)/60 Gigahertz (GHz) Radar/Ultrasonic: Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) applications are greatly beneficial for hygiene and social distancing mandates because the technology can scrutinize individuals and objects to a great degree. Moreover, vendors like TDK InvenSense utilize Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS)-based ultrasonic time-of-flight sensing to offer improved accuracy and detail in perceiving slight motions.
Microphones: On one hand, voice detection is another great avenue for occupancy monitoring. But on the other hand, it’s an unlikely deployment because eavesdropping on conversations introduces a host of privacy concerns.
The cost of water damage restoration is US$3.75 per square foot, according to National Flood Services. And that’s just for category 1 clean water; for category 2 gray water and category 3 black water, water damage restoration costs are US$4.50 per square foot and US$7 per square foot, respectively. However, building managers can avoid this pricey repair by deploying flood sensors. Flood sensors provide real-time notifications to circumvent costly damage in vulnerable areas or where expensive equipment/machinery is located. Some of these sensors let users modify water detection sensitivity to dodge false alarms produced by high humidity levels. Other products can sense when the room temperature approaches the freezing point, which contributes to pipe bursting. That way, facility managers can take the necessary steps to prevent failures before they materialize.
Electrical Current Transformer (CT) sensors measure the current flowing through an electrical conductor. The building’s energy flow is measured via a wire and the magnetic field. Electrical CTs take large, often dangerous voltages and break them down into smaller and more manageable energy outputs that are proportionate between the primary and secondary circuits. The four main types of CT sensors are:
The world today emphasizes energy and environmental control more than ever. A wide variety of sensors and enabling technologies can support smart building management by measuring desired criteria in enormous detail. These technologies provide far greater autonomy than in the past, making them pivotal to improving building performance (e.g., climate action, comfort, energy consumption).
Vendors can expect fierce competition in this growing market. Technologies like PIR, LiDAR, and ultrasonic will all be popular enablers of building intelligence. At the same time, many potential customers will be hesitant to adopt brand-new solutions and will wait to see how others implement sensing technologies. While keeping an eye on the future with new innovative products, vendors should also strive for technological breakthroughs with existing building sensors, such as more precise insights, multi-functionality, and easier deployment.