WirelessHART Network Best Practices

Working with end-users looking to add WirelessHart gas monitoring to their facilities, one question almost universally comes up at some point during the process: Where do I put my gas detectors?

Using a wireless gas detector provides great flexibility to deploy your monitoring device exactly where you need it. Obviously, gas type and leak location will influence detector placement, but less obvious is the need to create a robust network that ensures data gets back to you uninterrupted. Here are a few rules of thumb for WirelessHART networks that can help get you started.

The rule of five

This rule states that a WirelessHART network should have at least five devices within range of the gateway. Following this guidance will ensure your network can take full advantage of the mesh capability of a WirelessHART network and have sufficient redundancy built in. Less than five devices on a network will still be functional but will not take full advantage of these benefits.

The rule of three

This rule states that every device should have at least three neighbors. By doing this you ensure multiple paths for the WirelssHART signal to get back to the gateway so information won’t be lost even if devices drop off the network, or external factors such as trucks or moving equipment block one signal path.  In some cases, two neighbors may be sufficient but three should ensure you do not have to worry about losing data in an environment with unpredictable changes

The rule of 25%

This rule states that a quarter of your devices should be within range of the gateway. Setting up your WirelessHART network with this in mind will help eliminate choke points. If you have too many devices outside of the communication range of the gateway they will all need to communicate through a small number of central devices. This type of setup will tend to create bandwidth issues and prevent data from getting back to your control system.

While these guidelines may not cover every possible scenario, these basic steps will help if you are adding wireless to your facility or trying to expand an existing network. In addition, if you are struggling with connectivity in an existing network, auditing your device placement with these rules can help. Since WirelessHART networks are self-healing and self-organizing, it’s easy to add devices to help create a more robust connection.

Let us know what challenges you may have faced with your wireless networks.

Contact us at marketing@ueonline.com.