Legionella compliance has long been a legal requirement in commercial buildings. With an increased number of unoccupied premises throughout 2020, it’s predicted that there could be a heightened risk of Legionnaires disease. Discover how we can help you create a remote Legionella monitoring solution with LoRaWAN.
What is Legionella?
Legionnaires, or Legionella disease is a bacteria that grows in stagnant water. A form of pneumonia with symptoms such as: cough, shortness of breath, high fever, muscle pains, and headaches. With many commercial buildings currently unoccupied due to Covid-19 Virus, facility and building managers run the risk of returning to contaminated water. Since the water left in the pipes of the building provides the ideal breeding ground for bacteria to grow. Legionella is typically contracted by airborne bacteria and testing for Legionella is a legal requirement for commercial buildings.
There are many factors to take into consideration when assessing the risk of legionella within a building system, say the HSE’s advice. One of which is monitoring the water temperature in all or some parts of the plumbing system. Guidance from the HSE states that water stored at temperatures between 20 – 45°C encourages bacteria growth.
How can IoT help combat Legionella?
Usually the testing for legionella requires manual human interaction, however with IoT you are able to remotely monitor your legionella risk through the use of specialist LoRaWAN sensors. With IoT you can keep accurate records without human error or gaps in the temperature monitoring. There’s also the added bonus that all monitoring and control can be carried out remotely helping to reduce the risk to onsite personnel, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Simply connect the LoRaWAN sensors to the equipment you wish to monitor. This is easily done because of their non invasive nature. Then connect the devices to your LoRaWAN gateway and your user dashboard and that’s it. The IoT sensor will send data straight to your dashboard in timed intervals you have set. These can be changed if your prefer more or less readings in a time frame. Allowing you to visual see the data being collected and take action.
NETVOX R718CK2 LORAWAN 2-GANG THERMOCOUPLE SENSOR
STREGA SMART VALVE
All of our LoRaWAN sensors feature ultra low power consumption as well as extended battery life. Once installed, the IoT system can be configured to alert you to any potential issues that arise in your workplace/premises.
For additional ideas as to how IoT sensors can help to monitor potential risks to your business, why not explore our Covid-19 & beyond solutions