Open Source is where the original source code/hardware/design is made freely available and may be redistributed and modified. This is done using appropriate licensing and copyright. There’s a good chance you are using open source software in everyday life, it’s all around us, open source hardware is a growing area which Devtank are fully behind. We believe in the right to repair and aim to give that to all of our customers which is why our products are published under open source licenses so users can modify, adapt or repair them with ease.
You will need access to a LoRaWAN gateway and a LoRaWAN network already setup. Our sensors are designed to monitor numerous parameters. Depending on your requirements you may need to complete some electrical installation work (e.g. install smart meter/sensors on your consumer unit) and/or plumbing (e.g. fit water meter).
Alternatively, Devtank offer a complete turnkey service to setup your LoRaWAN network, install equipment and host your data at a very competitive price.
This is done on the LoRaWAN network level via it's web interfaces. The LoRaWAN unique device ID and encryption key is added to the LoRaWAN network server.
There are multiple LoRaWAN network server implementations available. Devtank use ChirpStack but another popular one is The Things Network.
See our guide - Connecting to LoRaWAN Networkshttps://www.chirpstack.io/project/guides/connect-device/
https://www.thethingsnetwork.org/docs/devices-and-gateways/adding-devices/
LoRaWAN is a highly regarded robust IoT data protocol (built on LoRa) which supports interoperability of hundreds of sensors on a common network with an impressive wireless transmission range upto 10km. LoRa uses the license free bands applicable to your geographic region, 169MHz, 433MHz (Asia), 868MHz (Europe) and 915MHz (North America).
LoRaWAN is built on top of LoRa modulation and is a Media Access Control (MAC). It is a layer of software which defines how devices use the LoRa hardware – They transmit and format messages. In our case it turns everything OpenSmartMonitor sensors collects into readable data which is passed on to the LoRaWAN Gateway and eventually your dashboard for visualisation.
https://lora-alliance.org/about-lorawan/
Our sensors can measure many parameters such as;
- Electricity Consumption*
- Air Quality
- Sound Levels
- Temperature
- Light Levels
- Humidity
- Water Usage*
- Gas Consumption*
The OpenSmartMonitor product range will help you perform the following:
See energy usage and waste across your entire operations
Calculate your Carbon Emissions (CO2e) on a real time basis.
Predictive maintenance, set alarms and alerts on key parameters to warn you early if there is a problem. (e.g. excessive water consumption)
Resource utilisation – see how well key plant/assets/equipment are utilised and calculate the unit cost of operating those resources.
Environmental monitoring – ensure you have real time monitoring of key health and safety parameters such as noise levels, temperature and air quality. Can also be used for auditing purposes.
Make sure the OpenSmartMonitor sensor has power and that the antenna is properly connected physically as well as having a connection to the LoRaWAN network server.
Yes! As this unique product can monitor multiple different parameters, this is an easy thing to do. The interoperable LoRaWAN network we use means you can also add sensors from other manufacturers on the same network.
Please visit our github repositorty for Devtank's Open Smart Monitor..
Please click below to download/print:
ENV-01 Datasheet
Our OpenSmartMonitor sensors can connect to any dashboard of your choice via the LoRaWAN network and application servers. Many of our customers use Grafana, a very powerful open source visualisation tool which you can access via your internet browser from any location.
For customers that pick our turnkey installation, we will install the necessary tools and configure a Grafana dashboard hosted on our servers. We can then tailor the dashboard visuals and alarms/alerts to suit your requirements.
Depending on the dashboard you have chosen to use this should be customizable. It is always best to check with who setup your existing dashboard.
This all depends on how many parameters you monitor and how you use the data. Typical savings range between 10% to 25% of your annual energy consumption after a period of initial monitoring. The on-going improvements to your operational efficiency are endless as you can build in enhanced monitoring and control of key assets to make further improvements.