Choosing between Terabee People Occupancy Counting and People Flow Counting sensors
Choosing the right system
When it comes to smart space management and people counting, selecting the right sensor technology is paramount. Terabee offers two cutting-edge solutions sensor options which are both GDPR-compliant by design: People Flow Counting sensors and People Occupancy Counting sensors.
Understanding when to deploy each device is crucial to get the maximum benefits for your office building or commercial real estate portfolio. This article looks at the key considerations for choosing between these two innovative technologies. While both technologies aim to track individuals within a space, their applications and implementation varies.
The choice between an occupancy people counter and a people flow counting system depends on the specific needs and goals of the organization. For those primarily concerned with space management, energy management, safety and legal compliance, an occupancy counting system may be the most appropriate. Conversely, for objectives related to customer experience, space optimization, energy management and marketing analytics, a people flow counting system would be more beneficial. Nevertheless, the combination of both solutions is most of the time the best answer for global building management use cases.
People Occupancy Counting
Occupancy counting systems precisely count the number of people entering and leaving a designated space, providing real-time data on how many individuals are present at any given moment. This data is crucial for several reasons:
Space management: Occupancy sensors have revolutionised space management in modern workplaces, especially in the context of meeting room booking and desk occupancy. These sensors automate the detection of actual room and desk usage, addressing issues like no-shows by releasing unoccupied spaces back into the system, and facilitating spontaneous meeting arrangements by providing real-time availability data. They collect usage patterns over time, offering valuable insights for space planning and optimization. This technology supports flexible seating arrangements like hot-desking by showing which workspaces are available in real-time.
Energy management: Modern office buildings and co-working spaces use occupancy counting for efficient energy management. By understanding peak occupancy times, these spaces can automate heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) and lighting systems to operate optimally. This reduces energy waste and lowers operational costs, supporting sustainability efforts and giving occupants a more comfortable environment.
Queue management: In scenarios where waiting times can affect customer satisfaction, such as at banks, amusement parks or public service offices, occupancy counting can help manage queues more effectively. By monitoring how many people are inside at any time, managers can adjust staffing levels or open new service counters to reduce wait times, to improve the customer experience.
Safety and compliance: For venues subject to strict occupancy regulations, such as theaters, nightclubs and conference centers, maintaining compliance with safety codes is non-negotiable. Overcrowding can pose serious safety risks and lead to significant legal repercussions. Occupancy counting systems enable these venues to monitor numbers in real time, ensuring they stay within legal limits. Smart access is also a benefit, with the detection of unauthorized access or unusual patterns of movement within the building, which can trigger alerts for security personnel to respond to potential intrusions or threats.
Ideal use cases for Terabee People Occupancy Counting
The following use cases are ideally suited to the Terabee People Occupancy Counting device:
- Bank waiting area for people with a meeting with bank advisor or bank reception staff
- Meeting room, Desk Occupancy Management
- University rooms/lecture hall management
- Hospitals/Emergency waiting areas
People Flow Counting
The Terabee People Flow Counting L-XL and People Flow Counting M 2.0 focus on the movement and patterns of people within a space, rather than just the count. These devices are ideal for optimizing space utilization, reducing energy consumption, improving customer experiences and navigation.
Space optimization: In offices and retail environments alike, understanding how workers and customers move through the space helps in optimizing the use of space, for desks, open areas and store layouts, product placement, and promotional displays. Retailers can identify high-traffic areas to place high-margin products or design the flow to ensure customers pass by key promotional items, increasing the likelihood of impulse purchases.
Energy management
Flow counting devices play a crucial role in energy management for large spaces by providing real-time data on occupancy levels through monitoring movements at various entrances and exits.
Through the aggregation of flow data, building managers can make informed decisions that align energy consumption with occupancy needs, achieving operational efficiency and cost savings.
For example, if certain entrances are consistently used less during particular times of the day, energy consumption in adjacent areas can be reduced. This level of detail allows for nuanced energy management strategies that go beyond basic scheduling to adapt to actual human behavior and space utilization.
Event management, museum and exhibition planning
Planning and managing the flow of attendees to prevent congestion and improve the overall event experience.
Museums and galleries can use flow data to design exhibits that naturally guide visitors through a space, ensuring they engage with exhibits in the intended sequence and reduce bottlenecks. This data can also highlight less used areas, informing future exhibit placements to balance visitor distribution.
Ideal use case for People Flow Counting
Global buildings and floor levels, university cafeterias, large conference rooms, shopping malls, airports and train stations benefit from understanding flow patterns to manage crowds, improve passenger experience, and enhance security.
By analyzing flow data, the managers of these hubs can optimize signage for better navigation, redesign spaces to reduce congestion, and deploy staff more effectively during peak times. Occupancy can also be computed from covering points of entrances rather than the full ceiling space.
Combination of both options: Global building management use case
The integration of occupancy sensing and people flow analysis into a unified building management system (BMS) provides owners with a powerful tool to manage large, multi-use buildings. This approach permits energy consumption to be reduced. Also it allows comprehensive space management, and informed decisions on space and service optimization based on actual data. As Terabee People Occupancy Counting and People Flow Counting devices comply with privacy and GDPR regulations, personal privacy is guaranteed.
Control the HVAC system in monitored rooms using the People Occupancy Counting device while also understanding peak usage with people movement throughout the broader building space, such as building floors, large rooms, or open spaces. This enables more precise control of lighting and climate systems.
Optimize the occupancy and utilization of meeting rooms, hot desks, or open spaces with the Terabee occupancy sensor. Meanwhile, cover conference rooms, cafeterias, and lobbies with our Flow counting solution to enhance services or adjust staffing levels. Both sensors facilitate the redesign or reallocation of underutilized areas.
People Flow counters can detect unusual movement patterns indicating emergencies or unauthorized access, triggering alerts for security personnel. Occupancy data helps ensure compliance with safety regulations regarding maximum capacity, aiding in regulatory compliance. In the event of an evacuation, data on people’s presence and flow can identify the most efficient exit routes and manage the flow of people to prevent congestion. Through a centralized dashboard, building managers can access actionable insights, receive alerts for potential issues, and automate processes for efficiency and comfort.
Talk to our experienced team about your people occupancy counting and people flow counting needs, by simply outlining your application and any specific needs.
