School IAQ Monitoring

Milesight 47,000 IAQ Sensors Create a Healthier Learning Environment in Canadian Schools

Success Story

  • Milesight Partner: Assek Technologie
  • Location: Quebec, Canada
  • Related Products:
    AM107 Indoor Air Quality Sensor
    UG65 Semi-industrial Gateway
  • Number of devices deployed: 47,000 units
  • Number of gateways deployed: 2,600 units
  • Number of messages handled/period: 7,331,376/day (156/day/device)
  • ROI data: There was no monitoring at all before. This IAQ project made the environment data under monitoring and control.

The Situation

The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the importance of continuously monitoring indoor air quality, especially in schools. The Ministère de l’Éducation du Québec has announced in September 2021 the deployment and installation of air quality and comfort parameters sensors in more than 47,000 classrooms across the province.

 

“Quebec is the only province to equip its classes with CO2 sensors.”
— Bryan St-Louis
Spokesperson for the Quebec province’s Education Ministry
“This is a major undertaking. We are talking about 90,000 detectors in 4,000 locations. We wanted to do this quickly, but also to do it well. In 90 percent of cases, ventilation is adequate.”
— Marc Sirois
Deputy Education Minister

 

Measuring indoor CO2 concentrations, relative humidity and temperature is part of a strategy developed to ensure that the best possible learning and working environment is provided at all times for students and school staff. With accurate indoor air data, well ventilated classrooms are achievable.

The Needs

Reduce maintenance and installation difficulties

Monitor CO2, humidity and temperature level at 5 minutes intervals during school hours

Create an information system without the use of Wi-Fi or Cellular Internet

The Solution 

 *The AM107 indoor air quality sensor can also monitor TVOC, Lighting and Barometric Pressure.

LoRaWAN® Technology

Considering all requirements, LoRaWAN® IAQ solution was a perfect candidate. LoRaWAN® devices met all requirements:

Long Battery Life

Fast Transmission

Visualized Data

Ease of Deployment

High Reliability of Messages

 

Multiple Environment Data Monitoring

Milesight & Assek

Milesight’s hardware R&D capabilities and software expertise from our valuable partner, Assek, led to a very complete and unique solution specially made for schools in Quebec, Canada.

Helpful Web Application

Assek Technologie developed a modern web application where all the users can interact with the data. Live and historical data, tendencies analysis, threshold alerts and reporting are all features part of the solution.

Data Reported Every 5 Minutes

Measurements are made every 5 minutes during the day and at the hours in the evening and at night.

The Result

Encouraging Results from 2 Pilots

2 pilots were implemented before the client started the project. In each pilot, Milesight’s AM107 were installed very quickly in approximately 30 classrooms, and Assek’s software presented great tools to easily monitor the air quality in classrooms.

47,000 IAQ Sensors Deployed at Ease

The success of the 2 pilots proved LoRaWAN® was the right technology and the client believed it was possible to adopt this solution in thousands of schools across Quebec very easily and quickly. In result, approximately 47,000 classrooms were equipped with this LoRaWAN IAQ monitoring

Decision-Making Based on Holistic Insights

The solution is meant to help the authorities to obtain an overview of the IAQ situation of all schools. This information, unknown prior to this project, can now be used to ensure the healthiness of the learning and working environment. It allows the client to prioritize and implement corrective actions, and all users to be notified when and where fresh air is needed. The solution could soon be integrated with HVAC systems to automatically ensure good IAQ.

Rapid Response from Real-Time Monitoring

  • For school staff

Real-time readings of three comfort parameters (CO2 concentration, temperature and the level of relative humidity) allow them to make changes more gradually and quickly in the affected rooms by, for example, adjusting the inflow of outdoor air or completely air out a classroom during a break.

  • Educational institutions

Can use the analysis results to take timely action when the set targets are not reached.

  • School service centers and school boards

Can use the analysis results to identify trends and target buildings that require broader intervention plans and/or larger scale corrective work. 

Promising Social Progress

A Healthy Learning Environment for Students & Staff

Students and staff can study and work in a healthy environment where they can concentrate and improve their efficiency.

Change in School Culture

The increased awareness of the indoor environment has led to new responsiveness to air quality challenges and a new commitment of resources to address nationwide IAQ issues.

An example of Innovation for Schools & Authorities

This IAQ project serves as a textbook case for schools & authorities across the nation.

The Benefits

  • 10 Years

    Solution supported for at least 10 years.

  • Comprehensive Data

    Uses a wireless communication protocol to acquire all the data from the sensors.

  • 5 Mins Report Intervals & 4 Years’ Service Life

    Allows data transmission every 5 minutes with a battery life of over 4 years.

  • Easy Installation

    Can easily be shipped anywhere and requires only 5 minutes per room for the installation.

  • Modern System

    Includes an information system capable of displaying, analyzing, and processing the data in real time.

 Energized for Green Air in 47,000 Classrooms

Through the course of challenging days, Milesight IAQ sensors are of help in schools across Quebec, Canada. For example, 191 classrooms in Massey-Vanier were equipped with AM107 and 208 IAQ sensors were supplied to Louis-Philippe-Paré. We are excited to see the transformation of historic schools for modern indoor air monitoring, such as Notre-Dame-de-la-Défense (founded in 1933), Notre-Dame-des-Neiges (founded in 1918), etc.

Some of the schools that deployed Milesight IAQ sensors

 

Massey-Vanier

Deployed Milesight IAQ Sensors
in 191 Classrooms

Louis-Philippe-Paré

Installed 208 Milesight IAQ Sensors

Notre-Dame-de-la-Défense

One of the Oldest Schools
in Quebec (1933)

 

Notre-Dame-des-Neige

One of the Oldest Schools
in Quebec (1918)

Technical Challenges Snapshot

Real-time Monitoring & Long Battery Life

Real-time data collection and reporting are critical for effective IAQ monitoring. However, in many cases, this will drain the battery fairly quickly. To tackle this dilemma, Milesight engineered automatic mode switch in AM107 indoor air quality sensor. In practice, the AM107 can automatically switch between different operating modes during the day and night. It responds to classroom air quality conditions as quickly as possible during the day, while saving as much energy as possible on the device’s battery in unoccupied classroom environments at night. Combined with the adaptive data rate (ADR) mode, it enables the device to achieve more than 4 years of battery life, even with a data collection frequency of 1 minute and a reporting interval of 5 minutes.

Time Accuracy

Considering that there are time zone and Daylight Saving Time differences in various regions, the time on AM107 may not be accurate if it is not adjusted accordingly. To make it correct and convenient, our AM107 is designed to automatically synchronize its time with gateway packet forwarding on a long-term basis.

IoT Security

The more complex and unique the password, the more secure the device will be. In our case, each device and password correspond to one another. The password for each sensor is randomly generated and is in the form of a long string.

Data Transmission & Integrity

To address packet conflicts and over-the-air packet loss, the AM107 has a built-in random delay reporting feature. Through this, the bandwidth and processing resources of the web server and application server can also be optimized.

Scaled Deployment & Configuration

To facilitate bulk deployment and installation, nodes and gateways are plug-and-play and automatically connect to the management platform after deployment. Users can configure and upgrade all remotely through the management platform.

Supports from Semtech

During the pilot projects, Semtech provided valuable and helpful suggestions to achieve a better response for the AM107 to LinkADRReq at the MAC layer, which enhanced the compatibility of the sensors in this project. 

 

“Real-time readings make it possible to intervene directly in the premises, by adjusting the supply of outside air for example, or by taking advantage of a break or a time deemed appropriate to completely ventilate a room.

Staff from The CSS des Portages-de-l’Outaouais (CSSPO)

Reported by leDriout

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