IoT and wireless tech make smart sensors more accessible for more companies - and it's easy to see why so many are implementing them. Smart sensors give you real-time actionable insights on your facilities from one centralised location, allowing for more intelligent decisions, cost-savings, and a better environment for customers and staff alike.
If you're a facilities manager and you're on the fence about the benefits of implementing smart sensors, we've got you covered.
Below are five smart sensor use cases targeted at facilities managers and directors, each with a feature and its benefit. Think of them as the practical nuts and bolts of how to turn data into value.
Read more about entrustIT's smart sensors here
1. Air Quality Monitoring
Feature: Smart sensors that continuously measure indoor air quality (IAQ) parameters — e.g. CO₂, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), particulate matter (PM2.5) and other pollutants.
Benefit for facilities managers:
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Provides early warning on air-quality issues, allowing you to intervene (ventilation boost, filter change, occupant evacuation) before health complaints or regulatory breaches.
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Improves occupant comfort and productivity (good air = fewer headaches, sick days) which supports tenant satisfaction and retention.
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Helps meet sustainability standards by profiling IAQ and demonstrating proactive management.
In short: you reduce risk, boost wellbeing and show tangible governance of the indoor environment.
2. Vibration (Equipment & Structural Monitoring)
Feature: Vibration sensors attached to critical mechanical equipment (motors, pumps, HVAC units, servers) or structural components (beams, ceilings) that detect abnormal oscillations or shifts in frequency.
Benefit for facilities managers:
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Enables predictive maintenance: you catch early signs of misalignment, bearing failure, looseness, fatigue — before full failure and downtime.
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Reduces maintenance costs and unplanned outages: fewer emergency call-outs, fewer reactive fixes.
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Extends equipment life and protects capital investments — you’re safeguarding expensive plant rather than letting it degrade unchecked.
3. Water Presence / Leak Detection
Feature: Smart sensors placed in risk zones (under valves, around pipe‐runs, at floor drains, near assets) that detect the presence of water/pooling or sudden water flow changes.
Benefit for facilities managers:
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Early detection of leaks or unintended water presence allows swift response — stopping damage to finishes, assets, data centres, and avoiding long-term structural issues.
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Reduces cost of water damage remediation, insurance claims and business disruption.
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Enhances building resilience and compliance (especially in data-centre zones, archives or high-value areas).
4. Utilities Usage Monitoring
Feature: Smart sensors (meters + IoT sensors) for electricity, gas, water consumption — granular, frequent interval, real-time data rather than monthly totals.
Benefit for facilities managers:
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Identifies waste, abnormal spikes or inefficiencies (equipment left on, zones over-conditioned, occupancy mismatches).
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Enables targeted optimisation and cost reduction: you reduce utility spend, support sustainability goals, and generate real savings on operational budgets.
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Supports reporting and auditing: you can bolster your case for investment in retrofits or renovations with data, not guesswork.
5. Temperature (Climate / Zones)
Feature: Smart temperature sensors distributed across zones, linked into BMS or stand-alone systems, able to detect deviations, zoning inefficiencies or HVAC under/over-performance.
Benefit for facilities managers:
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Maintains occupant comfort — temperature deviations cause complaints, disruption, lost productivity.
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Optimises HVAC operation — data lets you identify zones being over‐cooled/heated, reduce energy waste, fine-tune set-points.
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Supports preventative action: if a zone consistently drifts, you investigate insulation, dampers, sensor calibration, rather than assuming occupant behaviour.
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If you’re a facilities manager or director at an SME or larger estate, the case for smart sensors is clear: better data = better decisions = lower risk and cost + higher tenant/occupant satisfaction. But let’s be clear: the technology is not the full solution. Without integration into your operational processes, clear accountability and follow-up on the insights, the sensors may simply collect data and generate reports — and nothing meaningful may change.