Low-Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) Technologies Are a Critical Investment for Building Managers to Mitigate Risk and Optimize Their Properties

A New York City high-rise implemented Long-Range Wide Area Network (LoRaWAN)-enabled ProSentry smart water sensors with LoRaWAN-enabled gateways after spending millions recovering from the damage caused by two major water system failures within 4 years. With LoRaWAN-enabled sensors and gateways, the high-sensitivity water sensors can communicate easily across the floors and infrastructure of the high-rise, quickly detecting and alerting facilities staff to any changes, mitigating future risk. The high-rise not only plans to add more water sensors in 2026, but has also expanded its monitoring system to include DeNova Detect gas sensors. The almost uninsurable building brought its premiums down from US$850,000 to under US$600,000.

This streamlined wireless connection of devices and sensors across complex structures allows for connectivity of legacy systems or devices behind concrete and metal walls or on basement floors, ensuring reliable monitoring with minimal interference. Sensors can be enabled to collect real-time data for Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC), climate control, air quality, temperature, and more to effectively analyze, improve, and execute building management.

LoRaWAN-enabled sensors send data to LoRaWAN-enabled gateways. These gateways are also equipped with Wi-Fi to transfer these data to the network server. This integrates with building management systems where application software and analytics platforms deliver insights and alerts, enabling facility and building managers to make informed decisions. LoRaWAN is one example of a technology that leverages gateways and sensors to connect data from systems in smart buildings to the Internet over long distances, requiring little power.

In complex building structures where concrete walls, multiple floors, and departmental separation hinder communication, LoRaWAN-enabled sensors and gateways can be deployed as a low-power solution to ensure streamlined operations. Transmitting data over long distances assists with remote oversight and maintenance for offices, factories, warehouses, retail complexes, hospitals, and schools. Installation can take as little as a few days to a week with immediate detection of failures minimizing downtime and optimizing the labor force. This easy-to-adopt technology provides a scalable solution for retrofitting older buildings and making them smarter. Its interoperability across devices and resistance to interference make it simple to install, integrate, and expand as a sustainable solution in buildings.

By leveraging wireless connectivity technologies among devices, building/facilities managers can enhance efficiency, coverage, and sustainability across diverse use cases and environments. Long-range, low-power networking protocols are well-suited for reducing operational costs and mitigating financial risk in high-rise buildings and large property portfolios. Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), Wirepas Mesh, Thread, Z-Wave, Wi-Fi HaLow, and Zigbee are other wireless technologies offering scalable solutions in smart buildings that can provide insights into management issues in almost any building vertical.
The opportunity for scalability across multiple systems and sites is vast. Beginning in 2022 with continued rollout into 2026, Danubius Hotels integrated wireless building management connected with Z-Wave technology across hundreds of rooms throughout its four sites, effectively utilizing insights from HVAC, lighting systems, climate control, and more to reduce energy consumption and streamline labor. It has seen more than a 15% reduction in energy from HVAC systems alone. Through a phased rollout, complex properties and buildings can follow a similar approach, starting with the most critical systems to generate early savings. For the most immediate Return on Investment (ROI), building managers should identify their most pressing issues, leverage existing data insights and introducing new sensors where needed. Real-time monitoring use case opportunities for building managers include security systems for locks and occupancy detection, smart energy management systems for metering and HVAC, and control systems such as air quality, lighting, water leak detection, and thermostat monitoring. With wireless connection, these real-time analytics also help buildings maintain compliance with government and state energy regulations and safety laws.
The insights gained from both the New York City high-rise and Danubius Hotels mark a dynamic shift toward wireless connectivity-driven data management enabling more connected and adaptable infrastructure. Establishing a sufficient foundation for data management in buildings opens the door to future innovations, such as the advancement of digital twin adoption. Early adoption of sensors provides an historical baseline of system data in addition to continuous real-time updates. By combining extensive data collection systems and devices on a network, building managers can develop a virtual model that incorporates all the building’s systems and components that can later serve as a powerful tool for simulating and analyzing building performance in the form of a more comprehensive digital twin (see ABI Research’s The Future of Digital Twin Adoption in Buildings: A Shift to Proactive, Optimized Building Management and Energy Efficiency report (AN-6503)). As the smart building ecosystem evolves, Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven predictive maintenance can enable forecasting for trends in energy use, equipment wear, and occupancy to drive optimization even further.