Application of LSI LASTEM's Sphensor for Indoor Environmental Quality monitoring in COLLECTiEF’s pilot buildings

June 2022 marks the official start of our project’s piloting phase, during which we will test the COLLECTiEF’s Collective Intelligence-based Demand Side Management (DSM) in 13 buildings and 1 living lab in Ålesund (Norway), Nicosia (Cyprus), Grenoble (France), and Milan (Italy). These pilots represent 40% of the building archetypes in Europe and have different uses, scales, markets, and climatic contexts to demonstrate the replicability and scalability of the solution.

One key element of the COLLECTiEF system is the multiparametric radio sensors Sphensors, produced by COLLECTiEF partner LSI LASTEM. Three models of the sensors, 140 in total, have just been sent all over Europe to be installed in the project's pilot buildings. The first installation in the 3 buildings in Milan, Italy, has already been successfully completed.

Sphensor is a new family of multiparameter data logger radio sensors designed for long-term real-time monitoring of all the main Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) parameters. It composes the occupant-centric fusion sensor network that gathers information about the indoor condition of the buildings through the BRiG, a border router that is able to control smart valves and smart plugs of legacy systems.

 

Indoor Environmental Quality

Sphensor’s high-performance measurement accuracy, combined with a sophisticated and elegant design, make it the ideal solution for public, service and residential buildings, hospitals, schools and universities, shopping centers, close control laboratories and productions, as well as for museums, restoration and archaeological sites thanks to its high efficiency in controlling all the variables that accelerate the natural aging of works of art.

Parameters under control

Thanks to Sphensor, it is possible to simultaneously measure thermo-hygrometric parameters such as temperature and relative humidity, environmental parameters such as atmospheric pressure, illuminance, UV-A radiation and air quality in terms of concentration of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), CO2 and particulate matter (PM).

Flexibility in network architecture

Using the Thread protocol, the Sphensor data logger sensors are able to send the information acquired to a border router, the Sphensor Gateway, through a robust mesh radio network. In addition to acting as a buffer memory, the border router proceeds with the initial processing of data, which can be transmitted to the Client's server.

Sphensor’s advantages

  • Its small size and modern and attractive design allow a harmonious integration in any environment.

  • It has very low energy consumption, either running on battery (therefore not impacting the household’s energy bills) or having an extremely low consumption (average 1 W – equivalent to the consumption of a TV on standby).

  • The sensor radios work on frequencies identical to those of your home Wi-Fi. The radio network is based on a standard, hi-end, and reliable communication protocol and data is sent through a 2.4 GHz radio connection.

  • The border router provides local data storage, where the measurements received from sensors are stored; this gives optimal reliability to the whole measurement system when, for any reason, the communication is not operative.

 

«Over the years, we have acquired a solid know-how in the development of solutions for indoor environments and microclimate monitoring. Sphensor is a key player in all applications where superior performance in terms of measurement accuracy and high aesthetic value are required.»

Ing. Andrea Certo CEO - LSI LASTEM

 

The monitoring period will last 3 years, with the first year of pure monitoring and 2 years of control of legacy equipment through the COLLECTiEF intelligence system.

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