Template for Smart Building Sensor Deployment Without BMS

If you are aiming to transform your small building into a smart and efficient environment without a Building Management System (BMS), deploying sensors is a great starting point. Sensors can provide valuable data for monitoring various aspects of the building, leading to improved energy efficiency, enhanced occupant comfort, and optimised maintenance processes.

Minnovation recommends approaching the implementation of smart building technologies as a progressive journey, starting with simple deployments and advancing towards automation and control as your maturity and efficiency goals increase. By beginning with easy-to-implement solutions, you can gain valuable insights and experience while demonstrating the benefits to stakeholders. As you progress, embrace automation and control systems, integrating sensors and leveraging data analytics through the AlphaX analytics platform. This journey enables visibility across your building portfolio for benchmarking and standardization, while reducing overall costs by eliminating the need for a wired BMS system. Embrace the gradual transformation towards a more efficient and interconnected environment, optimizing operations and enhancing the overall performance of your buildings.

To help you prioritise your sensor deployment, we have categorised them based on their ease of implementation, cost and potential return on investment. Here is a suggested order of implementation, along with labels indicating their level of implementation complexity.

1. Ambient Monitoring Sensors

• Priority: High
• Implementation: Easy
• Cost: Low
• Description: Deploying ambient monitoring sensors, such as temperature, humidity, and air quality sensors, allows you to gain insights into the building’s indoor environmental conditions. This information helps optimize heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, ensuring occupant comfort while reducing energy consumption.

2. Occupancy Sensors

• Priority: High
• Implementation: Easy
• Cost: Medium
• Description: Occupancy sensors detect the presence of people in a room or area. By integrating occupancy sensors with lighting and HVAC systems, you can automatically adjust lighting levels and temperature based on occupancy, reducing energy waste in unoccupied areas.

3. Water Monitoring Meters

• Priority: High
• Implementation: Medium
• Cost: Medium
• Description: Water monitoring meters track water consumption in real-time, helping identify inefficiencies and detect leaks. This data enables proactive maintenance and promotes water conservation.

4. Electricity Consumption Meters

• Priority: High
• Implementation: Medium
• Cost: High
• Description: Deploying electricity consumption meters allows you to monitor energy usage at a granular level. With this data, you can identify energy-intensive areas, optimize equipment usage, and implement energy-saving measures.

5. Smart Fill Monitoring Sensors

• Priority: Medium
• Implementation: Easy
• Cost: Low
• Description: Smart fill monitoring sensors are used to track the fill levels of waste bins, water tanks, or other containers. By monitoring fill levels in real-time, you can optimize waste collection routes, prevent overflows, and ensure an uninterrupted water supply.

6. Smart Scene Panels and Displays

• Priority: Medium
• Implementation: Easy to Medium
• Cost: High
• Description: Smart scene panels and displays allow occupants to control lighting, temperature, and other building parameters in specific zones. These user-friendly interfaces enhance occupant comfort and engagement while enabling energy-saving settings. The costs for these units can be significant when you consider programming and integration but the returns can offer occupants a powerful way to interact with the building.

7. Zone Leak Detection

• Priority: Medium
• Implementation: Low
• Cost: Low
• Description: Zone leak detection sensors are placed in areas prone to water leaks, such as kitchens, bathrooms, and mechanical rooms. They provide early detection of leaks, minimizing potential damage and reducing maintenance costs.

8. Bathroom Odour Sensors

• Priority: Low
• Implementation: Easy
• Cost: Low
• Description: Installing odour sensors in bathrooms helps maintain a pleasant environment for occupants. These sensors can trigger ventilation systems to increase airflow when odours are detected, improving air quality and occupant satisfaction.

9. Gas Consumption Meters

• Priority: Low
• Implementation: Advanced
• Cost: High
• Description: Gas consumption meters monitor the usage of natural gas or other gases in the building. While this data can provide insights for optimizing energy consumption, it is recommended for larger buildings with substantial gas consumption.

10. HVAC Control

• Priority: Low
• Implementation: Advanced
• Cost: High
• Description: Deploying HVAC control systems allows for intelligent management of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning based on occupancy, ambient conditions, and set schedules. By optimizing HVAC operation, you can achieve significant energy savings while maintaining occupant comfort. HVAC control can be done either via IR for legacy split system control or RS485 or similar connectivity for modern installs.

11. Lighting Control

• Priority: Medium
• Implementation: Medium
• Cost: Medium
• Description: Implementing lighting control systems enables automated control of lighting based on occupancy, time of day, or natural light levels. This improves energy efficiency by ensuring lights are only active when needed. Integration with occupancy sensors and smart scene panels enhances user convenience and energy savings.

Remember that this suggested prioritization is based on the potential return on investment and the ease of implementation. You may adjust the order based on your specific requirements and budget. As you progress, consider how these sensors can work together to create an integrated smart building system that maximizes efficiency, comfort, and sustainability.

We hope this template helps you in your journey towards creating a smarter and more sustainable building. Should you have any further questions or require additional guidance, please don’t hesitate to reach out.