Smart Environmental Monitor

An embedded IoT system for real-time environmental monitoring with direct business applications.

Business Value

Target Markets

• Office Buildings: Employee health and productivity optimization
• Manufacturing: OSHA compliance and safety monitoring
• Warehouses: Equipment protection and energy efficiency
• Healthcare: Patient care environment monitoring
• Data Centers: Critical infrastructure monitoring

Key Benefits

• Cost Savings: 15-25% HVAC energy reduction through optimization
• Compliance: Automated OSHA environmental monitoring
• Productivity: 6-9% productivity increase with optimal conditions
• Risk Mitigation: Early warning for air quality issues
• Data-Driven: Historical analytics for facility management

System Overview

The Smart Environmental Monitor measures:

• Temperature (±0.1°C accuracy)
• Humidity (±2% RH accuracy)
• Air Quality (CO2, VOCs, particulates)
• Noise Level (dB measurement)
• Light Level (lux measurement)

Key Features

• Real-time monitoring and alerting
• WiFi/Ethernet connectivity
• Local data logging with 30-day retention
• Cloud data synchronization
• Web dashboard and mobile app
• Configurable alert thresholds
• Battery backup for power outages

Hardware Requirements

Recommended Platform

• ESP32-S3 or Raspberry Pi Pico W for WiFi connectivity
• STM32F4 series for industrial applications

Sensors

• DHT22/SHT30 (Temperature/Humidity)
• MQ-135 or SGP30 (Air Quality)
• MAX4466 (Sound Level)
• BH1750 (Light Level)
• DS3231 (Real-Time Clock)

Additional Components

• MicroSD card for local storage
• OLED display for local status
• RGB LED for visual alerts
• Buzzer for audio alerts
• Li-Po battery backup

Software Architecture

┌─────────────────┐    ┌──────────────────┐    ┌─────────────────┐
│   Sensor HAL    │    │  Data Processing │    │  Communication  │
│                 │────│                  │────│                 │
│ • Temperature   │    │ • Filtering      │    │ • WiFi/Ethernet │
│ • Humidity      │    │ • Calibration    │    │ • HTTP/MQTT     │
│ • Air Quality   │    │ • Alert Logic    │    │ • Local Storage │
│ • Sound/Light   │    │ • Analytics      │    │ • Web Interface │
└─────────────────┘    └──────────────────┘    └─────────────────┘

Build Instructions

Prerequisites

# Install required tools
cmake --version  # >= 3.16
gcc --version    # >= 9.0 or clang >= 10.0

Building

mkdir build && cd build
cmake ..
make -j4

Flashing (ESP32 example)

esptool.py --port COM3 write_flash 0x1000 environmental_monitor.bin

Configuration

The system uses JSON configuration files:

{
  "device_id": "ENV_MONITOR_001",
  "sampling_rate_ms": 5000,
  "thresholds": {
    "temperature": {"min": 18.0, "max": 26.0},
    "humidity": {"min": 30.0, "max": 70.0},
    "co2_ppm": 1000,
    "noise_db": 85
  },
  "network": {
    "wifi_ssid": "your_wifi",
    "mqtt_broker": "broker.hivemq.com",
    "update_interval_ms": 60000
  }
}

API and Integration

REST API Endpoints

• GET /api/current - Current sensor readings
• GET /api/history/{hours} - Historical data
• POST /api/config - Update configuration
• GET /api/alerts - Recent alerts

MQTT Topics

• env/{device_id}/data - Sensor data
• env/{device_id}/alerts - Alert messages
• env/{device_id}/status - Device status

Deployment

Industrial Installation

1. Mount device at 1.5m height away from HVAC vents
2. Ensure WiFi signal strength > -70 dBm
3. Configure alert thresholds per facility requirements
4. Set up monitoring dashboard access

Cloud Integration

• AWS IoT Core / Azure IoT Hub compatibility
• InfluxDB for time-series data storage
• Grafana dashboards for visualization
• Email/SMS alert integration

ROI Calculator

Cost Savings Example (1000 sq ft office):

• Device cost: $150
• Installation: $100
• Annual savings: $800-1200 (energy) + $2000-3000 (productivity)
• Payback period: 2-3 months

License

MIT License - See LICENSE file for details