19-02-2013, 04:50 PM
Smart Sensor Networks Technologies and Applications for Green Growth
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Introduction
Sensors and sensor networks have an important impact in meeting
environmental challenges. Sensor applications in multiple fields such as
smart power grids, smart buildings and smart industrial process control
significantly contribute to more efficient use of resources and thus a
reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and other sources of pollution.
This report gives an overview of sensor technology and fields of application
of sensors and sensor networks. It discusses in detail selected fields of
application that have high potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and
reviews studies quantifying the environmental impact.
The review of the studies assessing the impact of sensor technology in
reducing greenhouse gas emissions reveals that the technology has a high
potential to contribute to a reduction of emissions across various fields of
application. Whereas studies clearly estimate an overall strong positive effect
in smart grids, smart buildings, smart industrial applications as well as
precision agriculture and farming, results for the field of smart transportation
are mixed due to rebound effects. In particular intelligent transport systems
render transport more efficient, faster and cheaper. As a consequence,
demand for transportation and thus the consumption of resources both
increase which can lead to an overall negative effect.
This illustrates the crucial role governments have to enhance
positive environmental effects. Increased efficiency should be paralleled
with demand-side management to internalize environmental costs. Further,
minimum standards in the fields of smart buildings and smart grids in regard
to energy efficiency can significantly reduce electricity consumption and
greenhouse gas emissions. Finally, this report also highlights that
applications of sensor technology are still at an early stage of development.
Government programs demonstrating and promoting the use of sensor
technology as well as the development of open standards could contribute to
fully tap the potential of the technology to mitigate climate change.
2. Sensor technology for green growth
Environmental degradation and global warming are among the major global
challenges facing us. These challenges include improving the efficient use of
energy as well as climate change. ICTs and the Internet play a vital role in
both, being part of the problem (they consume energy and are a source of
pollution) and have the potential to provide important solutions to it (ICT
applications in other sectors have major potential to improve environmental
performance).
Various examples illustrate the role of ICTs as a provider of solutions to
environmental challenges: Smart grids and smart power systems in the
energy sector can have major impacts on improving energy distribution and
optimizing energy usage (Adam and Wintersteller, 2008). Smart housing can
contribute to major reductions of energy use in hundreds of millions of
buildings. Smart transportation systems are a powerful way of organizing
traffic more efficiently and reducing CO2 emissions.
All these applications have one important attribute in common: They all rely
on sensor technology and often on sensor networks. Because of the
important impact of applications of sensors and sensor networks in meeting
environmental challenges, this analysis has been developed in the context of
OECD’s work on ICTs and environmental challenges [see also
DSTI/ICCP/IE(2008)3/FINAL and DSTI/ICCP/IE(2008)4/FINAL, and
DSTI/ICCP/CISP(2009)2/FINAL for broadband investments in smart grids]
and the WPIE’s Program of Work 2009–2010. It is also a direct follow-up to
the Seoul Declaration for the Future of the Internet Economy, issued at the
close of the OECD Ministerial Meeting in June 2008, which invited the
OECD and stakeholders to explore the role of information and
communication technologies (ICTs) and the Internet in addressing
environmental challenges.
The report opens with some technological fundamentals in describing sensor
technology and sensor networks. This is followed by an overview of
different fields of application. Selected sensor and sensor network
applications are discussed as well as their environmental impact.
3. Sensors, actuators and sensor networks – a
technology overview
Sensors measure multiple physical properties and include electronic sensors,
biosensors, and chemical sensors. This paper deals mainly with sensor
devices which convert a signal detected by these devices into an electrical
signal, although other kinds of sensors exist. These sensors can thus be
regarded as “the interface between the physical world and the world of
electrical devices, such as computers” (Wilson, 2008). The counterpart is
represented by actuators that function the other way round, i.e. whose tasks
consist in converting the electrical signal into a physical phenomenon (e.g.
displays for quantities measures by sensors (e.g. speedometers, temperature
reading for thermostats).
Table 1 provides examples of the main sensor types and their outputs.
Further sensors include chemical sensors and biosensors but these are not
dealt with in this report. Outputs are mainly voltages, resistance changes or
currents. Table 1 shows that sensors which measure different properties can
have the same form of electrical output (Wilson, 2008).