How do you, your teams, and your organization effectively monitor noise, sound levels, gases like methane (CH4), rain water, temperature, humidity, wind, and weather?

In this customer story, you’ll see how Tools.Valarm.net software is used with Industrial IoT sensor hardware to remotely monitor a variety of environmental factors.

Let’s talk specifics about how you do it. The key components, requested by our customer (Rock Run Enterprises) on the east coast, you’re seeing in each of these remote environmental monitoring systems are:

  • SPL (Sound Pressure Level) sound meters / noise sensors for measuring decibels (dB), which are connected to milliVolt sensor adapters
  • Methane / CH4 gas sensors made by Clairair, which are connected to milliVolt sensor adapters
  • Meteo mini-weather station sensors for measuring ambient temperature, relative humidity, and barometric pressure
  • Wind speed sensors connected to 4-20 mA sensor adapters
  • Wind direction sensors connected to 4-20 mA sensor adapters
  • Solar panels to keep the internal sealed lead acid (SLA) battery charged up so the system runs 24/7/365.25
  • Voltage sensors to monitor battery health
  • Rain sensors / optical tipping buckets to measure water and precipitation levels, which are connected to knob / resistance / trigger switch sensor adapters

Why monitor methane / CH4?

Methane is a greenhouse gas. CH4 is also odorless and flammable. Here is an article specifically on why you should care about methane; and this story discusses the possibility of methane’s potential being underestimated.

The Clairair air quality sensors integrated into these monitoring systems are simple and straightforward to use, with no complex mathematical calculations needed for reporting real-time CH4 / methane sensor measurements. A distinct advantage versus the Alphasense B4 Series gas sensors.

In addition to the air quality sensors, there are a variety of weather sensors that the client needed – temperature, humidity, pressure, rain water / precipitation, wind direction, and wind speed. Weather factors like these can affect what the air quality and noise sensor measurements actually mean in the real world.

For example, if there’s a large concentration of gas in the air you’ll need to know which direction and how fast the wind is blowing in order to keep your communities safe and warn appropriate folks if necessary.

Fortunately, remote monitoring systems integrated with Tools.Valarm.net are quite flexible and modular so it’s easy to add and remove your sensors as you need.

All of your remote monitoring information is available in real-time for mapping, graphing, intelligence, and analytics on your sensor measurements.

You’re seeing screenshots from Tools.Valarm.net where 2D and 3D earth globes visualize your GPS-tagged sensor information. Using our APIs like JSON you and your teams can push or pull your sensor data into other business intelligence and analysis tools like the Esri ArcGIS platform.

Lessons learned:

  • An industry-specific expert in the field is always an awesome asset. Patrick Casaday at Rock Run Enterprises was invaluable by performing in-field calibration and fine-tuning of the sensors, especially the noise and methane gas sensors. Since every monitoring deployment site has its unique challenges, an experienced and creative partner ensures smooth installation and maintenance.
  • Some noise sensors (SPL / Sound Pressure Level  meters) output the negative, inverse voltage readings so we had the option of reversing the red and black cables, or using the Tools.Valarm.net calculators to quickly and automatically convert noise sensor readings into decibel (dB) noise levels.
  • It’s a pleasure working with the Clairair air quality and gas sensors. They work straightaway without any additional configuration. And their output of gas sensor readings is easy map, graph, and analyze with Tools.Valarm.net. Lorenzo made these mounting brackets / wiring harnesses for the Clairair air quality sensors. These and the rest of the pagodas and 3D printed pieces you see on these remote monitoring systems are awesome examples of how remotely monitoring Industrial IoT sensors with Tools.Valarm.net software receives a big help from our Makergear M2 3D printer.
  • Mills and drill presses are quite handy for custom fitting the aluminum mounting bars. We got some good experience using the mill and improving our technique with these systems. If you look closely you’ll see that each of these remote monitoring systems has a custom gap where the sound / noise sensor microphone is housed in its cozy housing pagoda.

 

 

 

 

Questions?

You, your teams, and your organization can effectively monitor just about anything with Tools.Valarm.net. You saw in this story a variety of hardware from various sensor manufacturers, all integrated seamlessly to make the most effective monitoring system for the customer’s specific needs. Our customers like to use the best solution for the task, which might mean:

And any other combination of sensor hardware that makes sense for Your Organization to integrate with Tools.Valarm.net software for critical decision-making with remote monitoring systems that save you money and time.

Take a gander at our Customer Stories page for more Industrial IoT Case Studies / Use Cases from various industries like water resources management.

Also have a look at our Web Dashboards for quickly and easily managing your remotely monitored Industrial IoT sensors with any of your devices that have a web browser, like your phone or tablet.

Whether you need to monitor noise, sound, water, piezometers / vibrating wires, flow meters, bridges, tanks, floods, hydraulics, levees, level transducers in groundwater wells, or any industrial equipment, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at Info@Valarm.net.

We’ll help you, your teams, and your organization deploy your most effective remote monitoring systems.