Smart Buildings (IoT) - Urban.io

At PSI Technologies we continue to innovate. We are leveraging the latest technology to enhance our solutions and deliver value to our customers. The advent of the Internet of Things (IoT) has enabled us to incorporate internet connected sensors that allow performance data to be sent and analysed remotely.

The pursuit for wirelessly connected devices and a cloud based back end platform led us to partner with Urban.io. We can now offer our clients more than just remote condition monitoring. Now we can offer the opportunity to implement a smart buildings regime as well as to leverage this technology in industrial applications.

Whether you are looking to optimise your energy consumption, make smarter decisions, reduce your operating costs or optimise your maintenance regime, PSI and Urban.io can deliver a solution to enable it.
Our range of sensors can be installed, activated and transmitting viewable data within 10 minutes. They offer a range of data types which can be configured to send automated alerts if thresholds are reached or exceeded. Components can then be predictively maintained when a cycle count is reached or its performance characteristics change.

What does Urban.io do?

Urban.io provides a range of low cost, industrial grade IoT devices that provide real time data from building systems, spaces and other remote field assets. Data from these devices is collected and displayed in a monitoring cloud platform as a turnkey managed service which you can brand as your own. Urban.io also provides standard ways to integrate live sensor data into third party business systems.

How it works

1. Sensors
Wireless Sensors automatically connect to gateways near them

2. Gateways
Gateways send data via mobile telephone networks to the Urban.io cloud

3. Platform
Live data from remote sensors is displayed in dashboards on a cloud-based Monitoring Platform

4. API
Live data from remote sensors is securely published via standard integration technologies

Get Real Time Data from your Assets

Let your building tell you when it needs attention.

Our suite of ambient sensors enables you to detect a wide range of events without the need for complex installation.

Motor and pump health
Refrigeration failure
Cold Storage Temperature Monitoring
Fire Alarm Monitoring
Showroom Lux Monitoring
Swimming Pool Water Temperature Monitoring
Plumbing leaks
Data center overheating
UPS Power Interruption Monitoring
Waste Water Tank Water Level Monitoring
Energy Performance and Management
ATM Room Wall Breaching
Drip tray overflow
Chilled Water Pipe Temperature Monitoring
Street Light Power Monitoring
Critical Area/ Space Access Monitoring
BTU Meter Consumption Monitoring
Water Heaters Temperature Monitoring

Examples of the Applications of our IoT Sensors

Freezers & Cold Stores
Certain items must be kept frozen otherwise they will perish and must be discarded if they defrost. Health and Safety laws are more stringent around frozen goods and medical items have even more stringent requirements. It may be critical to maintain a constant record of temperature level where these items are stored for Health and Safety Audit purposes.

How IoT sensors detect failure in Cool Rooms & Freezers

Temperature controlled rooms or equipment all house valuable contents that will perish if not kept cold or in certain cases frozen.
Service Providers can also be held liable for the resultant damage caused by perished food and medicine.
Many temperature controlled areas are not connected to Building Management systems so require manual inspections up to 3 times daily.
This costly exercise still only provides a high level audit of internal temperatures and does not capture events that occur after hours or on weekends.

Benefits for Building Owners and and Operators

Immediate notification of Refrigeration Failure to specialist technicians
Respond and rectify failures onsite within hours rather than days
Reduce loss of perishable goods and lower chances of flow on consumer health effects from consuming spoilt or contaminated goods

Smart Buildings - Cold Store and Freezers

Lifts and Moving Walkways
All lift and walkway motors are susceptible to intermittent failure with incidents occurring more frequently the older the unit is. Most buildings will have a contract with a specialist maintenance company, however the time it takes to detect and dispatch a specialist to assist people who are stuck and then to repair a lift can be hours or even days. Property Managers may suffer penalties for delayed response.

How IoT sensors detect failure in Lifts & Walkways

Vertical Transportation Systems are absolutely critical for the smooth transport of people around a building.
In many cases if one or more system becomes inactive the building may cease to be usable.
All systems have motor controllers which will provide a local alarm in the event of failure – however more than 90% of systems are not connected to a BMS or a central monitoring system.
It is impossible to predict when a motor unit will fail and these systems require specialist technicians (often from the manufacturer) to be called to visit site to fix, which may take several days of elapsed time – after someone has reported the fault and the “work-order” creation and scheduling process takes place.

Benefits for Building Owners and Operators

Immediate notification of System Failure to specialist technicians
Respond and rectify failures onsite within hours rather than days

Motors & Pumps
Motors & Pumps are used in many applications within manufacturing and industrial production facilities. A motor that is running continuously will eventually break down and cause a loss of production which has a cost to the facility in lost output. It is possible to predict motor or pump failure if heat or vibration increase over time.

How IoT sensors detect failure in Pumps

Bearings within Pump Motors wear over time and will cause different vibration patterns.
Belt wear (or complete failure) will cause additional changes to vibration patterns.
Increased friction from worn bearings and belts will cause excessive heat exhaust from the motor.
Many pump stations have controllers with emergency failure relays that can be monitored with a sensor.

Benefits for Building Owners and and Operators

Ensure cooling, potable water, sewerage, de-watering, and other water based systems function continuously
Respond to (or predict and prevent) emergency failures at critical sites
Lower costs associated with routine inspections and maintenance visits onsite

HVAC Chiller & Boiler
Chillers & Boilers provide the key piece of infrastructure for heating or cooling a large building. If a building is too hot or too cold it will cause discomfort to occupants who may have to leave the building causing loss of tenant occupancy and subsequent loss of yield from the space. Managers may suffer penalties if spaces are unable to be occupied.

How IoT sensors detect failure in FAHUs, AHUs and FCUs.

Bearings within Fan Motors wear over time and will cause different vibration patterns.
Belt wear (or complete failure) will cause additional changes to vibration patterns.
Increased friction from worn bearings and belts will cause excessive heat exhaust from the motor.

Benefits for Building Owners and Operators

Ensure stable internal building temperatures
Respond to (or predict and prevent) emergency failures at critical sites
Lower costs associated with routine inspections and maintenance visits onsite

Communication Rooms
Many buildings contain a small unmanned rooms for Communications or Computer Server Equipment. These rooms must operate at a constant temperature and humidity to ensure electronics do not overheat or electronically short and underfloor electronics do not experience flooding all of which would cause equipment to fail and subsequent loss of business output.

How IoT sensors detect failure in Communications Cupboards

Computer servers, network routers and telephony systems are critical to the function of a business.
If a Comm’s Room fails then this will inevitably have a significant financial business impact.
Many Comms Rooms are no larger than a cupboard, are not managed by permanent onsite IT staff; especially in smaller sites.
These “forgotten” rooms can suffer from poor air ventilation, generally have retrofit low cost (domestic) air conditioning systems which will fail under continuous load and can overflow water in the event of failure.

Benefits for Building Owners and and Operators

Early warning notification of potential overheating/humidity or detection of AC drip tray flooding
Respond onsite to rectify failures before IT failures can occur
Prevent downstream business impact from unplanned IT system shutdowns

Auto Doors and Roller Doors
Auto doors and roller shutters are typically installed in high traffic areas within a facility. These areas are typically in constant use to support the movement of goods in accordance with the demands of the business. Failure of these has the potential to impact business operations quite significantly causing lost production and delays.

Smart Buildings - Auto Doors and Roller Doors

How IoT sensors detect failure in Auto-doors

Auto-doors and Roller-doors are often the only entry into the front or the delivery point of a building.
In many cases if one of these doors becomes inactive the building may cease to be usable.
All automatic doors have motor controllers which will provide a local alarm in the event of failure – however more than 90% of systems are not connected to a BMS or a central monitoring system.
It is impossible to predict when a motor unit will fail and these systems require specialist technicians (often from the manufacturer) to be called to visit site to fix, which may take several days of elapsed time.

Benefits for Building Owners and and Operators

Immediate notification of System Failure to specialist technicians
Respond and rectify failures onsite within hours rather than days

Planned Maintenance
There are many activities in planned maintenance for building equipment which are repetitive and often unnecessary if the equipment is not running permanently. Instead of scheduling on a calendar, teams can be scheduled when equipment has run a certain amount, similar to servicing a car when the odometer has reached certain points This can reduce or even remove staff from buildings.

Technical Information