Ireland connects to the IoT

Edenderry is a town in County Offaly, in the east of Ireland, with a population that has recently grown considerably from 4,500 inhabitants in 2002 to 9,300 inhabitants in 2016, thanks to its proximity to Dublin.

One result of this growth is that the city is considered to be key to the development of the county and, from now on, it will be the first to have Internet of Things (IoT) sensors and monitoring devices to manage four basic fields in the city: parking, waste collection, air quality and building management.

The project, dubbed “E-denderry”, will be managed by Cellnex, which has deployed an Internet of Things (IoT) network based on LoRaWan technology, after the agreement with Everynet, allowing all IoT sensors and devices to be connected and data to be extracted in real time to manage urban services more effectively.

Sensors are being used for parking space monitoring, to ensure appropriate use of loading bays, wheelchair spaces and EV charging points. Waste collection management –Sensors are also being used to measure how full public litter bins are and when they need emptying. In this case, a pilot has already been installed in a litter bin, with another five to be installed in various public areas of the city. Air quality monitoring –the sensors will provide real-time monitoring of air quality and pollution levels, assisted by the Irish Environmental Protection Agency. Building management systems will be used to remotely monitor energy use, access, lighting and smoke alarms at the district offices.

Sharon Kennedy, Director of Services, Housing, Community, Culture, Emergency Services and Municipal District of Edenderry, said “the sensors that have been installed will support the council’s ability to manage its public buildings and public services more effectively. We are only at the very early stages of what can be achieved. With the various economic and community challenges experienced in the county in the past year, it’s vital that we explore ways to ensure the town repositions itself to adapt and thrive in an environment where technology and remote working will support exciting new opportunities” added Ms Kennedy.

“LoRaWAN and IoT may sound complicated, but in simple terms they provide a low-cost and easy-to-maintain way of leveraging the benefits of connectivity to the internet in a range of everyday uses and devices” said Paul Delaney, Sales Director of Cellnex Ireland.