Wireless environmental sensors with custom MQTT SCADA system for energy management IoT platform

Wireless environmental sensors with a custom MQTT SCADA system for energy management IoT platform

A specialist provider of energy management solutions required a comprehensive and scalable wireless sensor package to monitor environmental conditions across multiple sites. The key challenge was not only sourcing sensors with specific accuracy requirements but also ensuring the data could be seamlessly integrated into their proprietary IoT platform. The solution involved a suite of wireless transmitters for differential pressure, temperature, and humidity, all reporting to a central IoT gateway with flexible data handling capabilities, enabling the client to direct sensor data to their own server.

Application: Multi-parameter wireless monitoring of differential pressure, temperature, and relative humidity for energy management.
Challenge: Integrating data from a diverse network of new wireless sensors into a pre-existing, custom IoT platform and SCADA system.
Solution: A combination of high-accuracy sensors, wireless transmitters, and an IoT gateway capable of publishing data in a JSON format via MQTT over a cellular network.
Key Feature: The ability to configure the IoT gateway to send data to any third-party MQTT broker, giving the client full control over their data pipeline.

A technology firm specializing in advanced energy management solutions approached us with an urgent requirement for a large-scale deployment of wireless environmental sensors. Their business model relies on gathering granular data from client facilities to optimize energy consumption, reduce costs, and minimize environmental impact. For this project, they needed to monitor dozens of points across multiple locations, requiring a robust and easily deployable wireless solution that could feed data directly into their existing cloud-based platform.

The customer’s application requirements were highly specific. They needed to measure very low-range differential pressure from 0 to 100 Pascals with an accuracy of at least ±1 Pa, a common requirement for monitoring air handling units and cleanroom environments to ensure optimal airflow and energy use. Alongside this, they required a significant number of sensors to monitor ambient temperature and relative humidity. These sensors needed to meet an accuracy of ±0.5°C for temperature and ±3% for relative humidity, with some temperature sensors needing to operate reliably in cold environments down to -18°C. A critical and non-negotiable technical requirement was the method of data retrieval. The gateways collecting the sensor data had to support either a local Modbus RTU output or, preferably, offer a cellular communication option (2G/4G) that could be configured to send data to their own specified server endpoint, rather than a proprietary, locked-down service.

The proposed solution was a comprehensive package designed for flexibility and seamless integration. For the sensitive differential pressure measurements, the II-DP-CR-000 series transmitter was selected. This device, specifically configured for a 0-100 Pa range with an accuracy of 0.25% full scale (±0.25 Pa), exceeded the customer’s accuracy specification. To meet the wireless requirement, each pressure transmitter was paired with an IWTxT series wireless transmitter. This unit converts the standard 4-20mA analog output from the pressure sensor into a wireless signal, effectively transforming a wired sensor into a wireless node within the network.

For temperature and humidity monitoring, the IWRhT series of wireless ambient sensors provided an all-in-one solution. These integrated sensors deliver high-accuracy digital measurements for both temperature (<±0.5°C) and relative humidity (<±3%), meeting the client’s specifications perfectly. With a wide operating temperature range of -40 to +80°C, the IWRhT series was suitable for both standard indoor monitoring and the specified cold environment applications without needing different hardware. A key benefit of these wireless transmitters is their long, five-year battery life based on a 10-second transmission rate, which drastically reduces maintenance overhead for a large-scale deployment.

The cornerstone of the solution was the IoT-Gateway-00 series, which addressed the customer’s most crucial data integration challenge. This gateway acts as a central receiver, capable of managing up to 128 wireless sensor inputs. It is equipped with a 2G/4G cellular modem and uses the MQTT protocol to transmit data, which directly answered the customer’s primary inquiry. The critical feature for this application was the gateway’s ability to be configured to publish data to any IoT platform with an MQTT broker, not just a dedicated one. This gave the client the freedom to route all sensor data directly to their own servers for processing within their proprietary energy management software. Furthermore, the data is packaged in a well-defined JSON formatted string, which allows their SCADA system’s scripts to easily parse readings for sensor ID, timestamp, link quality, and data values, enabling a smooth and rapid integration process. As a secondary option, the IWR-PORT receiver was also offered, which would have fulfilled the client’s alternative request for a direct Modbus RTU output over an RS485 interface.