Through our extensive network of suppliers in the LoRaWAN world we have access to a huge range of commercially available sensors and actuators. Here are a few of the more common ones we currently use with our apps, and deploy and support for clients. We would love to hear about your needs and help you find the right devices.
Indoor environment sensors – Elsys ERS
Elsys offers a good range of indoor and outdoor sensors. They are configured using a phone app which makes it quite straightforward to set up.
This model offers temperature, humidity, light and movement sensors in a discreet box which looks fine on a home or office wall. Other models will provide CO2 and VOC levels to help you monitor indoor air quality. This may be of particular interest in preparing for the post-COVID return to the office.
The devices use one or two AA sized batteries and will run for several years before they need replacing.
Door and window sensors – Netvox R311A
This popular sensor monitors whether doors and windows are open or closed. Installation is simple – you stick one part on the frame, and the other part on the door or window.
It runs off 2 coin-cell batteries and we have devices working well into their second year with no sign of needing fresh batteries.
This matchbox-sized sensor is great for indoor use – we use much more robust sensors for outdoor use that are more robust and resistant to the weather and tampering.
Smoke detector and alarm – Zenner (under review)
We have been searching for a good LoRaWAN enabled smoke detector for a while. We are currently using this model but we are hoping to find a better one. On the face of it, this device ticks a lot of boxes and sends data that will help with compliance reports.
Unfortunately the documentation covering data message formats is very hard to understand, and you *really* don’t want to misinterpret an alert message from a smoke alarm!
Agriculture sensor – Tektelic
This robust device houses several sensors in one unit. The two probes measure soil moisture and soil temperature, and the main case also contains a sunlight sensor and an ambient temperature and humidity sensor.
Tektelic also offers another variant of this device which allows it to be wall or pole mounted and uses an external probe instead of the built-in ones.
The manufacturer claims battery life of up to 10 years – I guess time will tell! But this kind of battery life makes it great for farms, allotments and gardens.
Smart bins – BrighterBins
The business case for smart bins is particularly strong in more remote areas where the wasted fuel and time costs for visiting empty bins quickly repays the investment.
BrighterBins is one of several available solutions. We like the adjustability of the device to suit a variety of bins, the long battery life, and of course the price!