Monitor Energy and Air Quality in Existing Buildings

Installing monitoring equipment is common in new construction. How easy is it to add sensors and meters to existing buildings?

New construction offers seemingly endless opportunities for monitoring mechanical systems and environmental conditions. When the walls are not closed in and HVAC and hydronic systems are being installed, this is a great time to run sensor wiring, install flow meters, and run network cable.

But what about existing buildings? Is it possible to monitor energy use, air quality, and water?

Electricity monitoring is easily done in existing buildings, whether using SiteSage or inView technology. Current transducers (CTs) clamp around the wires for the mains and branch circuits, all inside the electrical panel. The CTs wire to an electricity meter, and the meter communicates with a gateway located outside of the panel.

Environmental sensors, on the other hand, are possible with existing buildings, with a few limitations. Wireless and battery-powered sensors are great in existing buildings. See the Wireless inSense or the SiteSage WiTemp for examples. These sensors just need to be within communication range of the gateway.

If the sensor is not wireless, a wireless bridge can help. A bridge typically has inputs for a sensor or meter. And the bridge sends the data wireless to the gateway. The SiteSage Sensor Pod and inBridge are examples of wireless bridges.

Flow and energy meters can be installed in existing buildings. These meters are commonly used to measure water and gas use, as well as the thermal output of domestic hot water system or a radiant loop. Installing a BTU meter on an existing ground source heat pump line may be challenging, however, because the line is pressurized when the heat pump is installed.

If you have questions about monitoring new construction or existing building, please contact PowerWise at +1-207-370-6517 or through our website.