9.4. Heatmap

By ahsan Chaudary
9 min

Heatmaps can really help in visualizing how different areas are being utilized, making it easier to identify high-traffic zones and underused spaces. This can be especially useful for improving efficiency and planning future layouts.

The heatmap offers an insight into how space is utilized by offering information such as,

  1. Datasets are complimented by historical information.

  2. The floor plan is complimented by a heatmap for easy visualization of data.

  3. Tags to offer quick filtering for each type of space

  4. Sensor Node's current status

9.4.1. Data Sets

A robust system for monitoring and optimizing space utilization! Here’s a quick overview of the data types and their significance:

  1. Presence Data: Tracks the occupancy of different areas, helping to identify which spaces are frequently used and which are underutilized.

  2. Light Level Data: Monitors the lighting conditions, which can be useful for ensuring energy efficiency and comfort.

  3. Energy Consumption Data: Provides insights into the energy usage of different areas, helping to identify opportunities for reducing energy costs.

The data resolution can be changed from a whole year up to a window of 5 minutes. There is also an option to access live mode to visualize the current space utilisation.

9.4.1.1 Presence

Here’s a summary of how space usage is visualized using the presence data set:

  • Measurement: The presence is shown as a percentage based on the total number of motion messages a sensor node receives within 300 seconds (5-minute window).

  • Motion Messages: With the default motion max rate of 10 seconds for each node, each sensor node can report up to 30 motion messages in a 5-minute window.

  • Calculation: If a sensor node reports 10 motion messages in 5 minutes, the presence is calculated as ((10/30) x 100) = 33.33%.

It is calculated as,

Actual (motion) messages from SN3 =10

Maximum no of possible motion messages it can send in 5 minutes = 30

Presence (%) = (10/30) x 100 = 33.33%

  • Space Utilization: Unless you make a node selection, the data you will generally see will be a combined output of the above calculation.

Please note that if you have stored any historical data locally by using API calls, please click here to read how does that look like now since we had a database transition.

9.4.1.2 Light Levels

Here is a summary of how light levels are visualized in the portal:

  • Measurement: This is measured and visualized in terms of percentage, representing a luminaire's dimming level.

  • Messages: Light levels are reported to the portal every 5 minutes by Response SN3s, as this is the default status frequency setting for sensor nodes.

  • Calculation: Percentage levels achieved for any period of time against the full capacity of any luminaire or whole space.

As an example, let’s imagine a floor with 100 SN3 integrated luminaires showing 75% light output for any selected hour. This would essentially be translated in that out of 100 luminaires, the luminaire output can be quantified (visualised) as;

  • EITHER 75 luminaires out of 100 were at 100% light output for that period of time

  • OR All 100 luminaires were on 75% light output for this one-hour window.

  • The average hourly calculation for a single Response SN3: Let's take another case of a single Sensor node showing 75.85% light levels for 3 PM (i.e., the selected one hour from 3 PM to 4 PM), as shown in the table below. This selected sensor node is showing 75.85% light levels for the selected one-hour time window. So, this average value is calculated by summing up the whole data for every 5 minutes divided by 12.

The second image shows the light levels reported in every 5-minute time window.

  • So, the one-hour light levels are (910.20/12) = 75.85%.

 

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9.4.1.3 Energy Consumption

Here is a summary of how energy calculation is displayed in the portal:

Measurement: Energy consumption is displayed in kWh against a time window.

Messages: The energy-related messages are status messages reported by Response Nodes every 5 minutes; energy consumption data also gets updated every 5 minutes.

Calculation: Gathering information from the messages above allows energy calculations in one of 2 ways,

  1. It can be true consumption if compatible DALI devices are installed (click here to read more on ADM).

  2. It can be a calculation done based on how much light level is currently output in a standard 40W luminaire.

If you have ADM drivers installed, then this can be true consumption reported by the driver. If you are unable to locate your installation specific luminaires contact ORT with luminaire specifications.

There is default energy consumption of 0.5Wh for every Response sensor node even if the light levels are 0% as SN3 required power.

The energy consumption is based upon a default luminaire profile (Light level: Wattage kW), and it takes on the following value

{ "0.0": 0.5, "1.0": 4.2, "5.0": 5.4, "10.0": 7.2, "15.0": 8.9, "20.0": 10.4, "30.0": 13.4, "40.0": 16.6, "50.0": 19.6, "60.0": 22.4, "70.0": 25.6, "80.0": 28.8, "90.0": 31.6, "100.0": 34.8 }

9.4.1.3.1 How is Energy Estimated

If the dim level matches the above values, the power consumption is extracted directly. If the dimming percentage is between two values, the Response Portal will calculate the gradient and calculate the interpolated power consumption value.

Please note that the Response Portal only calculates the energy consumption for the default 40W luminaire. The ability to calculate the energy consumption for different luminaire wattage values will be available in the future. However, no calculations are made for ADM drivers.

9.4.2 How to Use Data Sets

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By selecting the right time window, tags, or tenant tags, users can access specific information about any space. This helps in conducting audits and planning efficient space use. Users can also copy this information to their clipboard for custom analysis.

Note: You can tell a tenant tag from a normal tag by looking for the tenant symbol next to the text ‘Tenant A’ int this figure.

9.4.3. GDPR Compliance

GDPR stands for General Data Protection Regulation. It governs the protection, privacy, and transfer of personal data and aims to enhance individuals' control and rights over their own personal data.

To comply with this regulation, the Response portal provides two data tiers for Heatmaps.

  1. Tier 1: (Default) The data in the Response Portal is available for viewing at the lowest resolution of 1 hour intervals. Live mode is also disabled.

  2. Tier 2: If further accuracy or access live mode is needed then the high resolution data setting must be explicitly enabled by a building administrator.

High-resolution data means that the Response Portal will enable the view of data in 5-minute time intervals instead of 1 hour. Once activated, the data sets mentioned in section 9.4.1 will use smaller increments and allow users to dive deeper into the day-to-day activity within the building.

To opt into high-resolution data, a building administrator must go to the roles menu and check the “high-resolution data” check box for any defined or newly created role.

9.4.4. How to Interact with Data Sets

You can interact with any of the data sets by going through one or all the options shared below,

  1. Clicking on any time bar from any of the above data sets would segregate the heat map view based only on that time window.

  2. Double-clicking (Left mouse) on any of these bars would allow the user to go to a more granular resolution of that time window.

  1. The granularity offered goes in the sequence below;

    1. Yearly view – for a whole year, with data showing up in the data sets for each month

    2. Monthly view – with data presented in data sets for each day of the selected month

    3. Daily view – with data sets representing hourly information

    4. Hourly view – with data set showing a 5-minute window-based data.

    5. Right-clicking on the bar reverts the above step, and clicking on the same bar deselects the time window.

  2. Select any tag along with a time window to see a particular space utilization for a period of time.

A tenant tag and a normal tag are only visible on the floor if there are Response nodes assigned to them. If you are unable to find a tag for which you would like to filter information, please visit the Response SN3 page and carry out tagging of Response SN3s to enable tag-based Heatmap data filtering.

9.4.4.1. Interaction Example

An illustration is shown below;

  1. Whole-day view of a sample floor without any custom selection

  1. Selection of Time window for 11 am

  1. Selection of one meeting room through tags for 11 am

A user can instantly categorize the utilization of any space with a matter of a few clicks.

NOTE: Any values shown above are an indication only and are taken to help quantify the values and interpretation of those values available in data sets. These values are normalized values over time period based upon the reporting from luminaires.

9.4.5. Response SN3 Status

In order to proceed with this, “Enable All Nodes” from the floor plan and hover the mouse over the Response SN3. It will give you the status of the following parameters.

Each Response SN3 displays the following information:

  • General Information: Shows the total number of attached devices (e.g., 2 DALI drivers & an emergency/EM device) connected along with its Node ID# and physical device address, e.g. 4BEFED

  • Summary Data Set Value: Indicates overall presence, light level, or energy consumption depending upon the data set & time window. If no data is available for the selected period, it shows “No data available”. If no time window is selected, it will show the data for the whole day, month or year.

  • Current Light Level: Displays the current light level percentage reported within the last 5 minutes.

  • Lighting Status: A trafic light state next to current light level that shows if the lights are on or off. A green circle indicates lights that are on, and a hollow icon indicates the light is off.

  • Scene: Displays currently active scene.

  • Presence Detected: This shows the presence percentage detection for a node.

  • Group ID: Gives the group ID number if the Response SN3 is part of a specific Pub-sub group.

  • BLE Scanning Status: This shows the status of BLE scanning based on when it was last queried.

  • Tags: Displays all tags, including tenant tags assigned.

This Response node status permission will automatically be enabled when live mode/high-resolution heatmap permission is added to your access level. To access this information, please add or enable permission to view it.

9.4.6 Colour Gradient in Heatmap

The colour code bar visually represents the range of colours in the heat map. Different colours appear on the floor plan on the heatmap page based on your selected time window or tags. The colour gradient bar helps compare data, such as identifying low and high-occupancy areas.

The colour code bar is displayed on the right side of the floor plan, ranging from ‘Low’ to ‘High’ from top to bottom. The image below shows different colours in the floor plan, starting from low to high in presence.

All available Heatmap data sets presence, light level & energy consumption will follow the same colour gradients.

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