Environmental Monitoring Sensors: More Than Just Fancy Smoke Detectors
Filed under: SensorProbes, environmental monitoring, humidity monitoring, smoke detector, temperature monitoring, water leak monitoring
During a conversation this week, an associate of mine explained that his business is growing exponentially. His operation expanded from 5 locations to 18 locations in just 2 years. Considering the national economy during this last 2 years, I found this to be an astonishing and noble feat. But then he casually mentioned something else: one of his centers recently lost data due to a water leak. He mentioned it almost in passing, as if losses of this nature were to be occasionally expected.
Sadly, this type of water damage is fairly common. Not as common as the Old Spice Guy videos on YouTube, but common nonetheless. Read more
Raising the Temperature Bar
On the heels of the Earth Hour campaign that occurred this past Sunday, I’d like to give a shout out to the Green IT website. The website was launched last week and is in preparation for International Green IT Awareness Week, scheduled for June 1-7. Check out the site for some great tips for making data centers, and IT in general, more energy efficient. Almost all of the 100 ideas will end up saving a company some money, some require an initial investment in more efficient equipment, but some are just simple changes in behavior and require little more than a shift in thinking to make a sizable dent in energy costs. Read more
~JessicaFollow Me on Twitter
SNMP Temperature Monitoring
Filed under: Data Center, SensorProbes, airflow monitoring, environmental monitoring, temperature monitoring
Whenever we buy anything for the company, I always ask if it can be connected to the network and monitored with SNMP. For example, when a new HVAC system was installed in our building, I asked if it was going to be SNMP manageable. The contractor looked at me like I was speaking Greek. Out of curiosity, I decided to search on the idea and found this company called Chipkin that makes an SNMP gateway, as does the s4group.
Why do I care about SNMP?
I care about SNMP because I want to manage everything from a central location. We use MyView in Scrutinizer. From a central location, we can monitor the network, the call center and, if we wanted to, the coffee pot.
BTW: Fugoo is considering a marketing plan for their network connected coffee maker, however, it lacks support for SNMP and the Hyper Text Coffee Pot Control Protocol.
Temperature and humidity monitoring for agribusiness
Filed under: environmental monitoring, humidity monitoring, temperature monitoring
When you hear words like farm, agriculture, and greenhouse; you are much more likely to visualize pastoral scenes of rolling hills and grazing livestock than images of computers and network cables. In fact, we often think of farms and greenhouses as the antithesis of the high-tech environment. In reality, the modern commercial farm utilizes many different technologies to assist in farm management. One of the ways that technology and networking can make a farmer’s life much easier is in environmental monitoring. Read more
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Temperature Monitoring in the Office
I recently ran across an article about a union clause for workers in the New York Public Libraries that requires compensation to its workers if the temperature in the library drops below 68°. As I sit at my desk wrapped in my scarf and gripping my warm coffee cup to fend off growing icicles on my fingertips, I think: Where do I sign up?
I would be surprised if any office I have ever worked in has been kept at a regular temperature over 68°. It seems that most facility managers feel that cold office temperatures are good for building character or maybe they just don’t want to spend the money to heat the building adequately in the cold of winter. Read more
~JessicaFollow Me on Twitter
Temperature and humidity monitoring in storage facilities
Filed under: General, humidity monitoring, temperature monitoring
In college, I was enrolled in a program that rotated academic quarters with work quarters. I took advantage of my work quarters to do a little traveling around the country and as a result I ended up moving all my stuff in and out of storage units quite a bit. Of course as a college student, I didn’t really have many valuable items that needed to be protected from temperature fluctuations. However, a lot of people do use storage facilities during transitional periods to store valuable items like furniture, electronics, and musical instruments that are highly sensitive to temperature and humidity fluctuations. Even papers and books can be damaged in a high humidity environment. This problem came to my attention today when a customer called seeking a solution for monitoring the temperature and humidity in some of the units at the mini-storage he owned. Read more
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Top 3 advantages of web-based temperature monitoring systems
Filed under: environmental monitoring, humidity monitoring, temperature monitoring
It regularly occurs to me that web-based environmental monitoring systems, whether they be for the home, office, data center, storage closet, you name it, can oftentimes be overkill. Some people just need a thermometer. Others just need a barometer. Sometimes, simple problems call for simple solutions.
However, a web-based system that can monitor for changes in temperature, humidity, airflow, as well as the presence of water, smoke and motion, can be extremely valuable. To demonstrate just how valuable, I thought I would put together a list of the top three reason why a web-based system is more convenient and cost effect for many home and business applications.
What you can do about Christmas tree fire hazards
Filed under: Security Monitoring, smoke detector, temperature monitoring
The holiday season is finally upon us. As usual, with the cold weather comes turkey dinner and Black Friday sales - but that’s not all! If your family is anything like mine, the first thing you do after properly digesting your stuffing and waking from your Tryptophan coma is put up that glorious Christmas tree. There is really no better indication of the impending holiday season than a well lit and beautifully decorated tree.
I am a fan of the good ol’ fashion fake tree. Nothing says Happy Holiday’s like the smell of, well… plastic. But as I understand it, there are some 33 million American homes that go the natural route with their tree selection. However, improperly hydrated Christmas trees can pose a very real safety concern. According to the U.S. Fire Administration, “Christmas trees account for 200 fires annually, resulting in 6 deaths, 25 injuries and more than $6 million in property damage.”
Controlling the temperature and humidity in your wine cellar
Filed under: Intelligent Sensors, SensorProbes, environmental monitoring, humidity monitoring, temperature monitoring
Recently, I was watching a home show on television that was all 
about building a wine cellar in your basement. I don’t collect wine myself, but the space was beautiful and I couldn’t help but feel a little vicarious joy as I watched the home owners hold the first tasting party in their private cellar.
If you are a wine aficionado or if you make your living in the wine industry, you know that temperature and humidity control is crucial to storing and aging wines. The optimal temperature for storing wines is a constant 50° – 55°. If it is too cold, the wine won’t mature and will taste flat and lifeless; too warm and the wine will cook and end up tasting off. Read more
~JessicaFollow Me on Twitter
Best practices in temperature monitoring
When considering a commercial grade temperature monitoring solution, which will assist with your environmental monitoring goals, I think the following should be kept in mind when choosing the right temperature sensor.
Let’s take a look at a list of specifications to consider when choosing hardware: