/ Customers stories / Building maintenance monitoring made easier thanks to the IoT

Digitalising maintenance monitoring

ERITHERM / BEFFROI DE MONTROUGE

Optimise the organisation of maintenance, operating costs and improve user satisfaction by connecting its equipment with the IoT.

ID

Specialist in the operation and realisation of technical installations for the building industry (installation, maintenance, repairs).

Business line: operation and realisation of thermal installations (heating, geothermal, plumbing, ventilation and air conditioning)

Type of building concerned: all types of buildings

CHALLENGE

ERITHERM specialises in the operation of thermal installations for buildings. Its teams work on a daily basis to ensure the correct operation of heating, ventilation, air conditioning, DHW, etc. equipment in a wide range of buildings. To help its organisation, it uses TWIPI GROUP’s CMMS (Computerised Maintenance Management System) tool.

ERITHERM is looking for solutions to optimise the organisation of its maintenance service, reduce its costs and improve the service provided to its customers.

Bruno Soret, President of ERITHERM explains to us why he chose the IoT.

SOLUTION

In order to monitor the building’s technical equipment and optimise the associated maintenance services, ERITHERM has chosen to integrate IoT solutions.

To do so, it is equipped with adept sensors, communicating data through two complementary tools:

- The TWIMM CMMS application, (supplied by TWIPI GROUP): ERITHERM technicians have quick access to the essential data collected by the sensors. Thanks to IoT solutions, they can remotely know the ambient temperature of a room or the indexes of water and electricity meters… They also receive alerts when an abnormal operating condition has been identified.

- Dashboards elaborated with a company called CITRON: ERITHERM’s technicians can go further by analysing the evolution of the data collected, which enables them to detect areas for improvement to be implemented.

The IoT costs next to nothing and allows us to avoid unnecessary travel. We'll be able to raise alarms or read meter data from a distance and only have to travel for compulsory maintenance.

FOCUS ON THE BELFRY OF MONTROUGE - THE ACTORS

The first major step in the implementation of this project consists in deploying a complete IoT solution on the pilot site of the Montrouge Belfry.

ERITHERM

Specialist in the construction and operation of technical installations for the building industry (installation, maintenance, repairs).

TWIPI GROUP / TWIMM

Editor of the TWIMM CMMS (Computerised Maintenance Management System) solution.

ADEUNIS

Designer/Manufacturer of connected sensors and radio frequency expert. Accompanies the deployment strategy in the field.

SIGFOX

Connectivity provider. Allows data transmission.

CITRON

Publisher of software platforms for the digitalisation of energy management for companies, local authorities and landlords.

The IoT solutions used by ERITHERM:

In order to meet the desired optimisation objectives, several building equipment can be equipped with IoT sensors:

Water meters / Gas meters

Adeunis IoT sensor PULSE

Objectives:
- monitoring consumption,
- leak detection.

The analysis of consumption over time allows us to highlight consumption that should not exist. For example, we can see that consumption takes place at weekends when the building is closed, that rooms are heated when there is no one inside or when the windows are open, that water consumption is excessively high…

In addition, the remote warning function allows to react quickly in the event of over-consumption, which is synonymous with potential leakage.

Temperature / Humidity

Adeunis IoT sensor COMFORT

Objectives:
- monitoring of temperature and humidity in buildings

Having remote access to the inside temperature of buildings is a real plus in assisting occupants.

At ERITHERM, sensors are placed in the homes of users for whom a recurring temperature problem seems to be found. For a period of about 3 weeks, the data is read remotely, very regularly, in order to be able to analyse the situation in detail. Depending on the observations made, a response and an appropriate solution can be provided to the user.

DHW network temperature

Adeunis IoT sensor TEMP2S

Objectifves:
- monitoring of water temperature in DHW networks,
- control of the spread of legionella,
- response to legal obligations.

Since 2010, it is mandatory to monitor the temperature of the water present in the DHW circuits of all buildings receiving the public (ERP). The water temperature must be maintained at a minimum of 55°C throughout the entire circuit. This is the threshold below which the deadly Legionella bacteria can proliferate.

Thanks to the IoT TEMP 2S sensors and its two temperature probes, an alert is issued when the water temperature no longer corresponds to the determined criteria. This alert makes it possible to react quickly to solve the problem and, above all, to take the necessary measures for the building’s occupants.

RESULTS

The benefits of these IoT solutions for ERITHERM are easily identifiable:

Improve the organisation of the maintenance service / reduce intervention costs

Monitoring and alerts from sensors eliminate unnecessary travel. Except in the case of compulsory maintenance, trips are made on the basis of real and qualified needs. “No visit for the sake of a visit”. It is the cost of an intervention, i.e. 180 €, that is directly saved.
In addition, technicians can be assigned to other activities. The organisation is all the better for it. “The IoT reduces unnecessary travel for technicians who have more time to deal with the underlying problem or can be assigned to other sites, so the number of sites under management can be increased.»

Improved responsiveness

The alerts allow you to be quickly informed whenever a malfunction occurs. It is then possible to intervene as quickly as possible to identify the source of the problem and resolve it.

Reduced consumption

Monitoring and analysis of consumption allows for better management of the consumption. The alert function enables the company to intervene as quickly as possible in the event of a leak and to avoid over-consumption and the related costs associated with damage.

Creation of an additional service

With the IoT, it is also possible to create new service offers. For example, “on the monitoring of DHW networks, it is possible to offer optional 24-hour monitoring with alerts when thresholds are exceeded. This is of real interest to our customers.

Improved customer service

Improving responsiveness and reducing consumption are two direct benefits for the managers and owners of the buildings maintained by ERITERM. By providing these IoT solutions, ERITERM offers its customers a new service and adds value to its maintenance offers.

ERITHERM has chosen the IoT to remotely read the data of the technical building equipment for the following reasons:

Low installation and operating costs

Easy and quick to install

Easy to use

The IoT is very simple, once you understand how it works, it is installed in 1 hour and the cost is much lower than other systems that are much heavier to install.

NEXT...

In the coming months, ERITHERM’s objective is to deploy these IoT solutions on more and more buildings. “Indeed, the model is easily transposable to other cities, other buildings…” Thanks to the “TOP” support of the various players involved in this project and the good results of these pilot tests, ERITHERM is now able to deploy other sensors autonomously.

Eventually, the implementation of new use cases is envisaged to enrich their offer with, for example, the monitoring of ventilation systems. “The Delta P sensor enables us to check that the belt is working, it can be combined with a current clamp to check the power supply and it is also possible to add a sensor to monitor the opening of the skydome.“