Aranet Case Study – Wireless Temperature Monitoring for Energy Efficiency Optimization

Wireless Monitoring Sensors

Aranet Case Study – Wireless Temperature Monitoring for Energy Efficiency Optimization

A project with LeanHeat by Danfoss and Optiwise.

Energy efficiency is not only a reduction of the energy consumed. It also implies achieving an equal result with lower consumption. Besides the heat energy savings, the quality of indoor climate is important, too. Unfortunately, it is often achieved by increasing energy use.

A major challenge is to find a solution that would benefit both needs. Therefore in Latvia, the Jelgava City Council as their part of the development of smart urban environment is actively working not only towards improving the energy efficiency, but also ensuring high indoor air quality in the buildings of the city.

Energy management company SIA Optiwise in cooperation with Jelgava City Council performed a pilot project in a school building installing next generation heating control optimization system based on indoor climate feedback using Aranet IoT solutions.

Object

Name of the object: Jelgava Secondary School No.6
Area of the building: 9 334 m²
Building plan: 3 stories and a basement

The building is insulated: all of the windows are replaced with new, plastic ones. The building has a one-pipe heating system with no local room regulation options. Natural ventilation.

Average specific heat energy consumption: 59 kWh/m2

Challenge

Although the school building is insulated, it has an outdated one-pipe heating system with no local room regulation options. Uneven temperature distribution can be observed, however it is difficult to find a solution for it that doesn’t require big investments. Therefore, critical points dictate the temperature levels throughout the building.

The regulation of heating controller parameters in the building is carried out by a third-party supplier without an initiative to improve the situation or conserve energy. People in rooms, the building’s thermal inertia, sun and wind are constantly affecting and changing the conditions in the building. However, the ability of the building manager to respond to these changes is limited.

The Jelgava City Council in the context of smart urban development is not only actively supporting the efforts to improve the energy efficiency in buildings, but also ensuring high indoor air quality in them. It is also planned to introduce indoor climate and air quality monitoring systems in school buildings.

Indoor air quality is a particularly important aspect in teaching institutions, as recent studies show that it has a direct impact on people’s cognitive abilities. Poor quality of air in spaces that lack proper ventilation and high concentration of carbon dioxide can potentially impair human cognitive abilities by up to 50%.

There are two main goals:

  • Find opportunities to reduce energy consumption using feedback from constantly changing indoor climate and external conditions
  • Maintain optimal room temperature while the building is being actively used

Solution

Automatic heating control system by Leanheat was chosen as a solution. The system operates on a continuous feedback link between the actual indoor situation and the heating unit parameters.

The Leanheat solution uses artificial intelligence to predict, manage and monitor the building’s heating system. Data from heating unit is combined with the data from wireless temperature sensors on the premises.

Artificial intelligence processes the obtained data for optimal control of heating in the building, considering the current weather conditions and forecasts for the coming days and building usage schedule.

Setup and configuration were done within 2 business days. The system in the building has been in operation since December 1, 2019.

65 Aranet wireless temperature and relative humidity sensors were installed in the building, ensuring continuous monitoring in all active-use spaces. A new heating controller ECL 310 was installed in the heating unit. Both the controller and the sensor base station were equipped with a wireless GSM Internet connection.

The main reasons for Optiwise choosing Aranet to implement this project were:

  • Extensive wireless network coverage –allowing the entire school building to be covered with only one base station,
  • Simple setup – does not require additional resources and time,
  • Easy maintenance – the only requirement is replacing the battery once every seven years, and
  • Aranet Cloud service – allowing the system to be easily integrated into Leanheat software.

Results

In order to assess the improvements, a reference point was first established for both the thermal energy consumption and the average indoor temperature.

For reference, historical 3-year average heat consumption was used. In order to assess the impact of historical and future climate, climate normalization was used: i.e., it was determined how much energy the building would consume under equal climate conditions each year using degree days.

Throughout November the temperature was monitored in the building. Measurements were performed during the heating season for 4 weeks without the new control system in place to determine the average reference temperature in the building. At the same time, system’s machine-learning algorithm adapted to the unique conditions in the building.

The new control system was launched on December 1st and it was aimed towards maintaining the selected average temperature of the rooms as stable as possible during the active-use time. After 3 months of operation, the data showed 30,7 MWh or 10,4 % of reduction in thermal energy consumption compared to reference. Based on the average outdoor air temperature of these months, absolute energy savings reached 26,2 MWh. It should be noted that since the 2nd week of January the schedule for active-use period of the school building changed from 7:00-14:00 to 7:00-17:30. If the previous schedule of active-use didn’t change, the estimated savings would be even higher.

During this time, the underlying principle of using room temperature for controlling heating reached an average of 48,0 % savings compared to the reference. This is significantly higher than heating energy consumption reduction during the same period in similar buildings where heating system control is based on setpoint, not actual temperature in the rooms, and thus lead to compensating internal heat gain loss (from people, equipment, lights etc.). Second half of the March and April the data was not used in comparison, as this would not reflect the same conditions as compared to the previous years due to the emergency situation and quarantine.

Conclusion

Introduction of the Leanheat system achieved the main objective of reducing energy consumption and achieving a maximum cost reduction without any additional investments from the school, optimizing the functions of the existing heating system.

In addition, the new system ensures:

  • Energy and overall financial savings,
  • Indoor climate monitoring system at the cost of energy saved during the process,
  • Identification of strategic heating system upgrades needed to improve unevenness of the heat distribution systems (helping to determine the best strategy for heat balancer placement in the future), and
  • Potential for CO2 monitoring in the future.

Download the case study as pdf file: CASE STUDY | Wireless Temperature Monitoring for Energy Efficiency Optimization

Link to product pages: Aranet – Wireless Monitoring Sensors

Riga Stradins hospital is trialling the multi-patient body temperature remote monitoring solution

Wireless Monitoring Sensors

Riga Stradins hospital is trialling the multi-patient body temperature remote monitoring solution

The latest innovation by the Latvian company SAF Tehnika has recently been installed in P. Stradins Clinical University Hospital – Aranet wireless sensors for remote monitoring of patients’ body temperature. The new system greatly helps in limiting in-patient visits and reducing the staff workload at the time when medical staff is battling COVID-19 pandemic.

Aranet Wireless Monitoring Solutions

"In this emergency situation, Latvian companies as well as medical institutions had to look for innovative solutions and new approaches to everyday work”, says Rinalds Mucins, Chairman of the Board of Pauls Stradins Clinical University Hospital. “We are pleased to admit that we are succeeding. We can adapt and provide care and assistance to our hospital patients by introducing various new technological solutions into the daily work of doctors and nurses. Therefore, it is a double pleasure to receive this donation – the body temperature measurement system created by a Latvian company which will significantly ease the critical daily work of our nurses and alleviate the heavy workload of existing employees that they often experience due to the lack of nursing staff."

Rinalds Mucins, Chairman of the Board at Pauls Stradins Clinical University Hospital
Wirelee body temperature sensor

"The world is faced with a situation that has not been seen in a very long time. The last global pandemic was in 1918. No one knows what to do or how to do it. The world is learning by doing and so are we at SAF Tehnika. In the very first week of the declared emergency state, we wrote and submitted our project to the EU HORIZON 2020 programme to combat the COVID19 pandemic. I do not know anyone who has written and submitted a paper to the Brussels science programme in just 48 hours. SAF did it, thanks to our employees. This was the beginning of the product “Large-Scale Wireless Body Temperature Monitoring Solution for Hospitals”. Without waiting for the outcome of the grant, we have already created the first version of the thermometer and are able to offer it all over the world"

Normunds Bergs, Chairman of the Board at SAF Tehnika

"This collaboration with Pauls Stradins Clinical University Hospital is an important step towards the development of medical sensors. Real hospital conditions will allow us to better understand the specifics of the medical field and improve our product portfolio"

Edgars Sparnins, Aranet Product Manager at SAF Tehnika
Download PDF brochures:

COVID-19, a disease caused by the novel coronavirus, has taken lives of many people around the world, bluntly showing the shortcomings in the healthcare sector during a large-scale pandemic. The Aranet automated monitoring system is designed with the hope of providing the necessary support to healthcare professionals, limiting their exposure to the virus.

About Pauls Stradins Clinical University Hospital
Pauls Stradins Clinical University Hospital is the leading multi-specialty hospital that provides a full range of emergency and planned medical care, as well as provides pre- and post-diploma education, carries out scientific research and ensures approbation and implementation of new treatment methods and technologies in Latvia. It is multi-specialty hospital, providing treatment and care in 26 branches of medicine. Stradins hospital is the only hospital in Latvia which provides organ transplantation. About 310 000 patients are treated and consulted in the hospital every year. | www.stradini.lv

About Aranet
Aranet is a brand of SAF Tehnika, under which wireless sensor technologies are being developed. The Joint Stock Company SAF Tehnika, listed in NASDAQ Riga under the symbol SAF1R, has 20 years of experience in manufacturing and designing modern wireless data transmission technologies with its products being used in more than 130 countries. The company has developed a range of wireless sensor solutions for industries such as agronomy and horticulture, building management, food processing, supermarkets and many more, making it easy to collect and analyze real-time data. | www.aranet.com

Link to product pages: Aranet – Wireless Monitoring Sensors

Aranet Large-Scale Wireless Body Temperature Monitoring Solution for Hospitals

Wireless Monitoring Sensors

Aranet Large-Scale Wireless Body Temperature Monitoring Solution for Hospitals

With Covid-19 taking over the world on an exponential trajectory, it has become gravely obvious that the global health care system is not at all prepared for the pandemic. Hundreds of temporary hospitals are being constructed around the globe to manage the influx of the rising number of patients. Even if a hospital bed can be found for everyone in need, medical professionals are heavily understaffed and are struggling to devote each patient the amount of attention they need. Patients’ vital signs require to be monitored, and there are simply not enough eyes to do so. Because of the contagious nature of the disease, each contact that a medical professional makes to take the patient’s temperature increases the risk of him or her contracting Covid-19 and consequently further reduces the number of medics that are able to help.

Wirelee body temperature sensor

This is where SAF Tehnika can help. In the current situation they are acting fast, expanding their Aranet wireless sensor ecosystem with a sensor for monitoring patients’ body temperature.

A single system set-up consists of an Aranet PRO100 base station and 100 wireless battery powered body temperature sensors. These sensors can send their measurements to the centralised monitoring point wirelessly once every minute. The historical data can be viewed for each individual patient, as well as alerts can be set up to inform the medical staff of the most acute cases that require immediate attention. All functionality is available through an easy-to-use phone app.

The new Aranet body temperature sensor is factory calibrated for lifespan. This means that the sensors do not need to be recalibrated in the field (regular medical sensor have to be calibrated once a year).

Main benefits of the Aranet system include:

  1. Simple and quick set-up – saving time when every moment counts
  2. Exceptionally long-range radio – allowing to cover large areas of the hospital up to several hundreds of meters
  3. 24/7 monitoring – providing detailed, easily-accessible history of each patient’s temperature
  4. Customizable alarms – allowing medical staff to prioritize patients who need immediate care
  5. Redundancy – built-in local memory within the PRO base station guarantees continuous data collection even if the internet connection goes down or is not available
  6. Data agglomeration – allowing centralised data collection through Aranet Cloud from all base stations in use for a complete overview of the situation within the hospital
  7. No field calibration necessary – sensors are factory calibrated for lifespan

Expanding the medical sensor portfolio is the next step on Aranet’s roadmap with a new SpO2 sensor in the making. This sensor measures peripheral capillary oxygen saturation – an estimate of the blood oxygen level.

We hope that the Aranet automated vital sign measurement system can provide some much needed support to health care professionals, reducing their risk of exposure to COVID-19.

Download PDF brochures:

Link to product pages: Aranet – Wireless Monitoring Sensors

Aranet Case Study – Wireless monitoring sensors in Getliņi greenhouse

Wireless Monitoring Sensors

Aranet Case Study – Wireless monitoring sensors in Getliņi greenhouse

You can use the gas from a waste landfill to produce electricity, then use the excess heat to warm greenhouses. This is the genius thinking that empowers SIA Getliņi Eko. And this is also why they run one of the most advanced greenhouses in the Baltic region. Genius thinking and genius people behind it.

Getliņi manages the largest municipal solid waste landfill in the Baltic States. Recycling waste produces biogas. They burn biogas to produce electricity. Then they sell this electricity to the grid. This process produces a lot of heat. This heat is used to keep the greenhouses warm. Together more than a hectare of tomatoes, cucumbers and potted flowers. Now this is a smart optimization of resources.

They were the first greenhouse in the world that implemented LED lighting for cucumber growing. And they continue to lead the way in technological development.

You can’t optimize if you don’t measure. This is where Aranet comes in.

“We are fighting for every half of a degree,” says the chief agronomist Guntars Strauts, “energy efficiency is our utmost concern”. It is not enough to measure the temperature only in the center of the greenhouse with a climate box. This does not give you all the information you need to optimize costs.

You need to know what is going on everywhere, even in remote corners. Is one side colder? Did someone forget to close the window? You would never know if you were measuring only in the center.

Aranet wireless monitoring sensors

The Aranet system offers flexibility by using wireless sensors for all measurements. Put the sensors anywhere you want. Change the location as often as you need. No wires, no hassle. Cost efficient. Simple.

Getliņi took it a step further. They now use the Aranet system to measure on 3 levels of the plant – top, middle and bottom. Maybe the lower level is fine, but the tops of the tomato plants are overheating. Time to close the shades.

Plant weight is an important matter. It’s very satisfying that it can be measured in the same Aranet system. All in one dashboard. You know how much water is coming in. You weigh the plants. You weigh the drainage. You get your biomass increase. You can be even more precise if you want. Aranet temperature sensors also measure relative humidity. You can use this to get the use vapor pressure deficit. Then calculate the evaporation and subtract it.

The flexibility offered by wireless sensors is immense. It takes time to comprehend all the applications. It takes time to escape the “wired” thinking. Time to break loose from the limitations of wires.

Link to product pages: Aranet – Wireless Monitoring Sensors

Aranet Case Study – Wireless temperature monitoring in Latvia’s largest supermarket chain, Rimi Baltic

Wireless Monitoring Sensors

Aranet Case Study – Wireless temperature monitoring in Latvia’s largest supermarket chain, Rimi Baltic

If a refrigeration unit in your supermarket breaks down you don’t have to worry about spoiled products. Provided that you have the Aranet smart sensor system installed, as Rimi Baltic has… Rimi Baltic is a major retail operator in the Baltic states based in Riga, Latvia. It is a subsidiary of the Swedish group ICA. Rimi Baltic operates 83 retail stores in Estonia, 56 in Lithuania and 125 stores in Latvia. They also operate supply-chain distribution centers in each of these countries.

When Aranet representatives first started to investigate supermarkets, it was a surprise for us how often data collection still depended on manual pen and paper recording. Measurements such as freezer temperatures were susceptible to human error and problems could only be detected after the fact.

In the summer of 2018 Rimi Latvia gave Aranet a chance to prove the quality of our wireless sensors for refrigeration unit temperature monitoring.

The superior quality of the Aranet system became apparent – where our competitors needed 3 base stations to cover a large supermarket, Aranet did it with only one. Because of the advanced performance of our technologies Aranet proved itself to be the best solution for Rimi’s needs.

Wireless sensors

Today 7 000 Aranet wireless sensors are installed in all 125 Rimi supermarkets in Latvia.

If something goes wrong with a refrigeration unit the Aranet system immediately alerts the food safety manager that temperatures are experiencing a variance outside of optimal range so that corrective actions can be taken.

Currently all of the Rimi stores in Latvia access the Aranet Cloud for centralized monitoring and data analytics. No more manual temperature data logging means greatly reducing losses associated with non-saleable products. Automated temperature monitoring and minute-by-minute notifications of variances greatly simplify compliance with the HACCP process.

Wireless monitoring in Rimi – Latvia’s largest supermarket chain

Even in the largest Rimi supermarket, 8 800 m2 – about the size of a city block, the wireless signal of a single Aranet base station can cover the whole store.

After implementing the Aranet sensor system additional benefits are becoming apparent. Rimi Baltic outsources the operation and maintenance of refrigeration units. With the data provided by Aranet, stores can save on the energy costs of operating the refrigeration equipment by keeping the units running at the optimal temperature range. In accordance with food safety guidelines Rimi must maintain their frozen food inventory at -20°C. By using the Aranet system Rimi learned that the outsourced maintenance company was keeping some of the freezers at temperatures as low as -30°C. The ambient temperature at Rimi supermarkets is usually kept around 20°C. This means that the temperature difference between the freezer and the store temperature was 32°C, when it should have been 22°C. Aranet data analytics identified substantial savings of 20% by reducing energy costs associated with operating these units.

The Aranet system is a plug-and-play solution that allows a supermarket to protect itself from unnecessary food spoilage and potential food safety violations. As an added benefit it allows for an easy record keeping for reporting and traceability.

You can only improve what you measure. Time to choose Aranet!

Link to product pages: Aranet – Wireless Monitoring Sensors

Aranet PRO – Innovative Environmental Wireless Monitoring Sensors

Wireless Monitoring Sensors

Aranet PRO – Innovative Environmental Wireless Monitoring Sensors

Aranet PRO is an industrial grade environmental wireless monitoring solution for a variety of businesses. Aranet PRO comes in three variations

  • Aranet PRO 12 Base Station supports up to 12 wireless sensors,
  • Aranet PRO 50 Base Station supports up to 50 wireless sensors, and
  • Aranet PRO 100 Base Station supports up to 100 wireless sensors.

The base station has exceptional sensitivity and allows placing the wireless sensors within line-of-sight range of at least 3km and inside buildings within range of several hundred meters. Aranet PRO systems come with a free, easy to use software program, Aranet SensorHUB, that helps view, analyse and compare data in real time, set thresholds for alarms, rename sensors, export data to help keep pulse on the ongoing and optimize processes when necessary. Base station is able to store data locally and/or on the Aranet Cloud (cloud service available 1Q/2019). Responsive design of the software adapts to smartphone, tablet or laptop.

The Aranet API software allows integrating the Aranet sensor measurement data into 3rd party applications. The application aranet-agent runs on Windows, Linux or macOS operating systems and acts as data provider between one or several Aranet PRO base stations (collection point of sensor measurements) and 3rd party application.

Aranet PRO Base Stations for Wireless Sensors

Depending on how many sensors are required, the user can choose between three Aranet PRO versions – Aranet PRO 12, Aranet PRO 50 and Aranet PRO 100:

  • Maximum sensor count: 100/50/12
  • Alarm type: Email, optional alarm SMS notification through USB modem
  • Memory: 10+ years with 100 sensors
  • Receiver sensitivity: Europe -127 dBm
  • Channels – Europe: Channel 1: 868.10 MHz, Channel 2: 868.30 MHz, Channel 3: 868.50 MHz
  • User interface: Aranet SensorHUB (Aranet Cloud available 1Q/2019)
  • Interface accessibility: PC, tablet or smart phone connected via Ethernet cable or local WiFi connection
  • Temperature scale: Celsius, Fahrenheit, Kelvin
  • Data resolution: Temperature 0.1°, Humidity 1%
  • Data protection: Password protected user accounts, encryption for data
  • Communication: Ethernet cable, local WiFi (2.4 GHz)
  • Power options: AC Power adapter. Optional power supply with PoE adapter. Built-in battery (backup power up to 30min)
Wireless sensors

Wireless Sensors with Long Range and Battery Life

Aranet wireless sensors for monitoring temperature, relative humidity, CO2 level, atmospheric pressure, illuminance and distance in different environments. Data transmission between sensors and Aranet PRO base station uses free of charge 868MHz frequency band and line-of-sight range can be up to 3km (inside buildings several hundred meters). Sensors come with Alkaline batteries with max. battery life of 7 years, and optionally available Lithium batteries with max. battery life of 10 years. Battery life depends on measurement interval (can be 1, 2, 5 or 10 minutes) and on monitoring device.

Innovative wireless CO2 monitoring solution

Aranet4 sensor

  • Measures: CO2-level 0-9999 ppm, temperature 0°C to +50°C, relative humidity 0% to 85% RH, atmospheric pressure 300-1100 hPa
  • Battery life: Up to 2 years
  • Protection class: IP20
Wireless Temperature sensor

Aranet T Compact sensor

  • Measures: temperature (-40°C to +60 °C)
  • Battery life: up to 7 years
  • Protection class: IP68
Wireless Sensor for monitoring temperature and humidity

Aranet T/RH sensor

  • Measures: temperature (-40°C to +60°C) and relative humidity (0% to 100%)
  • Battery life: up to 10 years
  • Protection class: IP42

Aranet T/RH IP68 sensor

  • Measures: temperature (-40°C to +60°C) and relative humidity (0% to 100%)
  • Battery life: up to 10 years
  • Protection class: IP68

Aranet T-probe sensor

  • Measures: temperature (-55°C to +105°C)
  • Battery life: up to 10 years
  • Protection class: IP68
  • Probe length: 0.3m/1m/5m/10m

Aranet PT100 Transmitter/Sensor

  • Measures: temperature (-200°C to +800°C)
  • Probe type: Any class PT100
  • Battery life: up to 10 years
  • Protection class: IP68

Aranet PT100 EXT sensor

  • Measures: temperature (-190°C to +260°C)
  • Battery life: up to 10 years
  • Protection class: IP65

Aranet Ultrasonic Distance Sensor

  • Measures: distance (0.3m to 5m or 0.5 to 10m)
  • Battery life: up to 7 years
  • Protection class: IP67

Aranet LUX sensor

  • Measures: illuminance (0 – 200 000 lux)
  • Battery life: up to 7 years
  • Protection class: IP68
Wireless current sensor

Aranet 4-20mA current sensor

  • Measures: current (0-30mA)
  • Battery life: up to 7 years
  • Protection class: IP68

Aranet Voltage sensor

  • Measures: DC voltage (-32 to +32 VDC)
  • Battery life: up to 7 years
  • Protection class: IP68

Aranet PT1000 Transmitter

  • Measures: temperature (-200°C to +800°C)
  • Probe type: Any class PT1000
  • Battery life: up to 10 years
  • Protection class: IP68
Wireless CO2 sensor

Aranet CO2 sensor

  • Measures: carbon dioxide (CO2) (0 ppm – 9999 ppm)
  • Battery life: up to 7 years
  • Protection class: IP40

Aranet Signal Test sensor

Aranet Signal Test sensor designed to analyze the signal strength and help IoT system deployers install and plan sensor placements in desired locations.

Link to product pages: Aranet – Wireless Monitoring Sensors