Environmental Monitoring Sensors: More Than Just Fancy Smoke Detectors
Filed under: environmental monitoring, humidity monitoring, SensorProbes, 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
Avoiding water damage during floods
Filed under: environmental monitoring, water leak monitoring
This past weekend, the remnants of tropical storm Ida showed up in Southern Maine as a rain-soaked nor’easter. Fortunately, for us, we didn’t see the wide spread flooding and coastal erosion that other areas experienced further south on the New Jersey and Delaware coasts. 
Seeing all the news footage of flooded streets made me think about how important it is to be prepared for water infiltration due to flooding. According to the Red Cross, floods are among the most frequent and costly natural disasters, causing more than 90% of the damage related to natural disasters. On average, floods cause more than $4 billion in damages worldwide, per year. Proper preparation is equally important for businesses and homeowners.
Water leak monitoring helps avoid mold
Filed under: environmental monitoring, humidity monitoring, Intelligent Sensors, water leak monitoring
Water leaks and or high humidity can lead to mildew and mold. The results after prolonged exposure can mean premature paint problems, structural issues and health problems, not to mention the stink!
We can’t depend on our noses to do your mildew monitoring because we can’t be in a dozen places at once all the time.
There is an easier way. Our water sensor can monitor for water leaks. The cable for the actual sensor can be up to 100 feet away from the BitSight. Because its unique design, it can be used to notify when water levels drop too low as well.
The humidity sensors we manufacture can be run 1,000 feet and fished through walls to measure humidity in air ducts, crawl spaces, etc. As a bonus, the same unit performs temperature monitoring and measure as well.
Ravica has a complete line of intelligent environmental monitoring solutions to help protect your business from a environmental disaster. All units support SNMP and send alerts in numerous formats.
- Mike
Monitoring water leaks during hurricane season
Filed under: environmental monitoring, Intelligent Sensors, SensorProbes, water leak monitoring
It’s official, hurricane season is upon us. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration lists June 1st as the official start of the Atlantic hurricane season. The end of this particularly dangerous portion of the calendar year has been moving ever outward and now comes to a close at the end of November.
Bonnie Schneider reports for CNN that as of as early as Thursday, May 28th, the first Tropical Depression had already formed just over 300 miles south of Providence, Rhode Island. Winds, however, did not exceed 35 mph. This early storm turned out to be little more than a hazard to nearby fishing vessels, but could the early storm activity be an omen of future seasonal dangers? According to hurricane expert Robbie Berg of the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida, “A flurry of activity in late May or early June is not a sign of what’s to come.”
It’s good to know that despite the early indications of an active 2009 hurricane season, there is no reason for a Swine Flu like panic. However, regardless of whether this year will be any worse or better than the typical hurricane season, it is important for those in storm prone areas to take their normal yearly precautions. It could be said that any hurricane season is a bad hurricane season.
For those of us up here in the great state of Maine, we don’t have to worry as much. However, there are many of us that enjoy summers in Maine and winters in any one of the southern states. Recently, I helped a customer configure an environmental system for his summer home in Florida to watch for any water leaks, during the months when he was not there.
The system was simple to design and implement. Basically, a few water sensors were strategically placed around the house; one in the basement, two on the first floor and one in the attic. The customer liked the portability and size of the BitSight2; so with four sensors to attach, he needed two SensorProbes. We gave both BitSights external IPs on his home network and loaded them on the Internet, where he could hit them from his home in Maine.
Now, in the event that he has leaking or flooding on any floor of his summer home, the BitSight will alarm him immediately. Luckily for him, he has neighbors that live there year-round. So he can call someone to check things out, if his sensors alarm him, all the while being 3,000 miles away.
The BitSight2 line of environmental monitoring sensors are great for data centers and offices, but the size and flexibility of these entry level units makes them suitable for home use as well.
Are you putting measures in place to watch your home for water leaks, while you are away this hurricane season?
~ Jon Mills
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