Internet of things for a smart campus : on-line monitoring of water consumption in university buildings.

Abstract

Water and energy are among the greatest expenses of University buildings and therefore the monitoring of its consumption is of capital importance. In this work it is proposed a monitoring system based on the Internet of Things (IoT), consisting in a network of physical sensors embedded with electronics and software that allow getting real-time data of any measurable parameters such as level, flow, pressure, or power and make them available online. Such system can be a powerful tool for building managers and maintenance teams, helping to the optimization of water and energy use. An IoT system based on the premise of real-time monitoring with a public access internet interface is being developed for the Polytechnic School in Salvador, Bahia. The objective is to monitor a series of water meters as well as the level of the water tanks, creating a fastresponse leakage detection system. These data will be deployed in a user-friendly interface that, as an additional feature, will also be able to show real-time data of electricity consumption as well as the renewable energy generated in the building through a series of solar panels and one small wind turbine. This system must be reliable and scalable in order to create a Smart Campus for the whole UFBA. In this paper, the architecture of such a system is presented together with the developed prototypes and the results of the monitoring of this particular building.