Sensors used for Environmental Monitoring

Sensors used for Environmental Monitoring: The integration of Energy Control Sensors in the Smart Grid

Environmental monitoring, in simple terms, does what it says on the tin; it is used to monitor the quality of the environment. There are continuously new innovations and ideas entering the market for environmental monitoring, which can be used to distinguish the status, or to establish new trends of the ever-changing environment.

Energy Control Sensor Networks play a major role in revolutionising traditional grid systems into smart grids. The smart grid itself, is an innovation which has the potential to transform the conservation and distribution of energy as we know it.

The digital technology that the grid implements is used to improve reliability and overall efficiency, and by using sensor networks within the smart grid system, this allows the tracking of energy consumption. Automatic solar panels which are managed by sensors to track the sun rays, now ensure that solar power is gathered much more efficiently; thus less wasted energy. 

It now seems that wireless technology has been about for an age. It is no longer a ground-breaking phenomenon. The rise of the wireless sensor networks however signifies the most recent system within wireless communication technology, which allows information gathering to control the environment, as well as remote monitoring for changes, faults, finding trends etc.

Within a Smart Grid, sensor networks are now playing a leading role in sensing, collecting, and providing information about the status of environmental changes.

Wireless sensor networks are now an operative, effective solution and a more flexible and developed technology that can automatically collect information and data for many different aspects of the environment.

With ever growing concerns over environmental damage from fossil fuel power stations, this has consequently led to a desire to use large amounts of renewable energy.

Dominant forms such as wind power and solar power are highly variable, and are obviously weather dependent. Therefore the need for an advanced control system has become apparent to enable the connection of energy sources to the smart grid.

In a recent study it was found that commercial buildings are responsible for around 40% of energy consumption in the United States. These energy control sensors have the potential to reduce the energy consumption of these buildings by 20-30 percent.

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