As a wireless technology, the LoRaWAN water pressure sensor series is a low-power pressure monitoring sensor. The pressure seat is processed with a 17-4PH stainless steel single-piece integrated structure, offering high overload performance. The pressure interface has no welds, no silicone oil, or other organic substances, ensuring excellent sealing performance. Using LoRa wireless communication, it features low power consumption and long-distance transmission. Equipped with a built-in high-capacity lithium-thionyl chloride battery, it has a long service life and can be used in low-power wide-area Internet of Things (IoT) scenarios such as water pipe and valve pressure detection. It can be powered by batteries or other energy harvesting methods. The lower data rate also extends battery life and increases network capacity. LoRa signals have strong penetration through buildings. These technical characteristics of LoRa make it more suitable for low-cost, large-scale IoT deployments.

LoRa Applications

From the current state of LoRa applications, there are mainly data transparent transmission and LoRaWAN protocol applications. Currently, LoRa is still mostly used for data transparent transmission. Due to the high technical and development barriers of gateways, applications using the LoRaWAN protocol for networking are relatively few.

Several issues to consider for LoRa applications:

Distance or range

Power supply or power consumption

Number of nodes

Application scenarios

Cost

In urban areas, the typical wireless range is 1–2 kilometers, while in suburban or open areas, the wireless range can be farther. The network deployment topology can be designed according to specific applications and scenarios. LoRa is suitable for applications with low communication frequency and small data volume. According to Semtech's explanation, one SX1301 gateway has 8 channels and can receive approximately 1.5 million data packets per day using the LoRaWAN protocol. If your application sends one packet per hour, one SX1301 gateway can handle about 62,500 terminal devices.

From the perspective of LoRa network applications, there are large networks and small networks. A small network refers to a user setting up their own nodes, gateways, and servers, forming an independent system network. A large network refers to large-scale, foundational network deployments, similar to China Mobile's communication network. From the perspective of LoRa industry practitioners, many telecom operators are also involved. As LoRa devices and networks increase, spectrum interference between them exists, which raises requirements for the allocation and management of communication spectrum. A unified coordination and management mechanism is needed, as well as the management of a large network.