From temperature to building occupancy, water to air quality, and gas to lighting usage; sensors are having an increasing effect on a building’s operational performance. Stacey Lucas, commercial and marketing director at Sontay, explains the role each sensor plays in achieving this interior idyll.
As people return to their workplaces following the government’s lockdown measures imposed as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, there will be unprecedented focus on ensuring the offices, factories and warehouses employees reoccupy hereafter are as bio-secure as it is possible to be. Building sensors, installed as part of an efficient central management system, offer an ingeniously smart and effective way of remotely monitoring elements such as temperature, air quality and ventilation to help maintain a healthy indoor climate for the occupiers’ comfort and peace of mind.
Sensors also give property owners more control over energy usage; a benefit that not only helps reduce heating and lighting costs, but also facilitates a significant reduction in a building’s carbon footprint. Their usage could therefore be crucial in driving environmental initiatives, such as the UK government’s pledge for carbon-neutral status by 2050. The following is a guide to the ‘must-have’ sensors for a healthier, safer, energy-efficient building.
Temperature sensor
Historically, temperature has been viewed as crucial to occupancy com- fort in buildings. In the workplace, such contentment results in improved productivity and fewer sick days. Sensors can help maintain the ideal indoors temperature, which for an office environment, is found to be around 22°C.
Humidity sensor
Relative humidity can have a negative effect on indoor temperature settings. If not controlled, it can make a room feel hotter or colder than the actual temperature reading. In order to maintain the desired indoor climate, the humidity reading should be around 50%. A humidity sensor will help achieve this.
CO2 sensor
The Covid-19 pandemic has focused a lot of attention on the amount of indoor space people should be allowed to share in order to maintain distance and prevent viral spread. A CO2 sensor provides a clear visual indication of when a workplace requires ventilation due to deterioration in the indoor air quality.
When we exhale, we emit CO2, which if left unchecked in a busy office environment for example, can lead to headaches due to increased discomfort levels. A CO2 sensor with an LED traffic light-style display can help alleviate this issue. When showing green, for instance, the sensor is indicating that a room isn’t over-occupied and the risk to air quality is low.
Should the sensor show amber, it’s a sign that windows require opening or fewer people need to be in the room to maintain the same healthy indoor environment. When the sensor turns red it is a call to action, as it indicates there is not enough ventilation in the room. At these last two stages, if a sensor is connected to a building management system, it will activate the relevant vents.
Air quality sensor
This monitors levels of airborne volatile organic compounds (VOC), pollut- ants which are found in paints and other building materials. This sensor has particular relevance to the current climate, with the increased use of hand sanitisers, aggressive cleaning products and detergents potentially adding to the release of harmful VOCs into the interior atmosphere.
CO sensor
In a domestic or workplace setting, high levels of carbon monoxide can be life-threatening. A lot of CO sensors are installed within indoor car parks where there is high retail footfall. In these environments, the sensor will trigger ventilation systems into use when safe pollution levels are exceeded due to car exhaust fumes.
Water detection sensor
This is what we call a behind-the-scenes sensor, which has come into its own during the recent coronavirus crisis. With many people recently forced to work from home via PCs, tablets and other digital devices, data centres have been vital to maintaining remote operations and ensuring staff retain contact with colleagues and their employers.
A water detection sensor takes the form of a strip of tape. This is placed in a floor cavity beneath the data centre in order to detect any presence of water. Should this situation arise, the sensor will short circuit the server and trigger a response from a connected building management system, which will decide whether to shut down the server or notify the relevant maintenance team.
Pressure sensor
Behind-the-scenes in a building management system application, liquid or air pressure sensors are used in either pipe or ductwork. These indicate a drop in liquid or air pressure, which usually means in relation to air pressure, a fan has stopped working. This can have a debilitating effect on a building’s ventilation, therefore a sensor will alert a fault to a management system and the incident can be investigated accordingly.
Light level sensors
Again, this is relevant to the recent nationwide lockdown, when many offices in towns and cities remained empty whilst within the buildings themselves lights and other energy sources continued to burn unmonitored. An estimated 40% of a building’s energy costs are attributed to light usage, therefore installing a sensor which operates lighting based on a building’s occupancy and interior light levels has financial and environmental benefits.
Occupancy sensors
Although considered an effective security item to alert the presence of intruders in a building, our selling-point for occupancy sensors is their ability to detect ‘people presence’ in order to regulate temperature control or air conditioning usage. Such services can be smartly switched on or off depending on how well occupied a building is. This can lead to huge gains in terms of cost-savings and enhancing a property’s sustainable credentials.
Air velocity sensor
This is often used in cleanroom applications such as hospital operating theatres. Outside or polluted air is prevented from getting into these hygiene-critical areas in a process that involves over-pressurising the rooms. An air velocity sensor, along with a pressure sensor, indicates when a room is at the required velocity pressure and acts as a warning device if levels begin to drop.
