How to colour your company green with the IoT

1. Smart metering: measuring to save energy

Thanks to the IoT, smart meters or ‘smart metering’ are now available to you. Using sensors and the mobile network, you collect a host of data such as temperature, energy consumption, air quality and the presence of people in an industrial building. ‘Apparently smart metering is one of the most popular IoT applications, especially for start-ups,’ says Gert Pauwels, Sales and Marketing manager for IoT/M2M at Orange Belgium and Luxembourg.

Measurement is the key to knowledgeand, what’s more, smart metering often offers advantages for various parties. For example, a manufacturer of ventilation or heating systems might use remote smart metering to monitor the use of an installation in your home. The data would enable the manufacturer to fine-tune systems and perfectly gear them to your needs. The result is a more targeted and (energy-)efficient product.

2. Sharing economy: insight into availability and maintenance

The IoT also plays a pivotal role in the burgeoning sharing economy. The smartbike service is a good case in point. Users are kept up-to-date on the availability and the use of the smartbikes on their smartphones – all thanks to the IoT sensors in the bikes. By monitoring use, bike shop managers are alerted when bikes are due to undergo preventative maintenance. 

3. Wearables and smartphones: health and work-life balance

The IoT is also useful on an individual level. Wireless devices, including activity trackers such as sport watches and smartwatches, collect a host of information for (and about) you. They send notifications when certain threshold values relating to heart rate, blood pressure and temperature are reached.

The days when these wearables were reserved for fitness fanatics are long gone: they have now part of the landscape in the business world. With more and more organisations committing to the idea that healthy and active employees are more committed employees, wearables and smartphones are being used to monitor and advise employees about their movement patterns. They are also influential in improving the work-life balance,suggesting optimal departure times based on traffic density. Perfect for anyone who wants to trade traffic jams for more time relaxing at home.