Building Automation

Case Study: Structural Integrity Monitoring

It often becomes necessary to monitor the structural integrity of a building. Cracks appear on the walls as a result of subsidence, ageing, and a number of other reasons. In order to maintain the safety, it is of paramount importance to have up-to-date information and take preventive measures when necessary. Placing sensors on walls and inside cracks helps to collect the required data. However, running cables to these sensors is extremely cumbersome, not to mention expensive. Wireless sensor network technology offers a cost-efficient solution to monitoring buildings’ structural integrity.

With a ZigBee network and the wireless tilt sensors in place, structural data collection is dramatically improved. Previously such collection required significant time and resources, requiring two engineers to go out into the field to collect data manually. With ZigBee, data collection is streamlined to remarkable productivity – information is delivered in real time, reports are generated automatically, and accuracy is enhanced. All of this adds up to dramatically reduced monitoring costs, increased client satisfaction, greater precision and better safety.

Despite these significant benefits, implementation of a ZigBee wireless sensor network featuring wireless nodes is fast and easy. Once placed in and around the building to be monitored, the tilt sensor nodes – powered by MeshNetics networking stack software - form a self-organizing, self-healing network. Data that’s collected by sensors is transmitted through a gateway to the company’s server. Here, the data is stored and used to generate reports. The entire process is completely automated. Thanks to MeshNetics nodes’ long battery life – lasting a minimum of 1 year under normal building monitoring demands – even post-implementation maintenance is simplified. One building monitoring company achieved all of these wireless sensor network benefits after an incredibly fast four month time-to-market window.