SMARTMOLEN.COM
smartmolen.com is a digital monitoring solution for traditional windmills, developed by members of the Friends of Upminster Windmill. Its main purpose is to monitor the orientation of mills such as Upminster that turn to wind automatically by means of a fantail.
Digital sensors installed in the mill’s cap measure its orientation and transmit data to the smartmolen system, which checks the readings against observed and forecast wind conditions. The data is displayed in a graphical view and on a live wind map at www.smartmolen.com. Alerts can be sent via SMS text message when the system detects a tail wind situation or foresees the risk of one.
The Friends of Upminster Windmill won the BAFM Impact Award 2021 in recognition of the benefits of this technology for both preservation and visitor engagement. This video, recorded in October 2021, gives an overview of the technology.
Sensor Technology
Each mill’s orientation is monitored using two small digital magnetometers installed discreetly in the mill’s cap or buck. The sensors transmit the cap’s orientation every 20 minutes, or more frequently if they detect movement. The sensor readings are transmitted using LoRaWAN radio, a technology optimised for the transmission of small amounts of data, with low power consumption. This enables the batteries in each sensor to last up to two years.
The radio signals from each mill are received by LoRaWAN gateways. In some areas of the country, public LoRaWAN networks are available, such as the Norfolk and Suffolk Innovation Network. In other areas we have installed dedicated receivers up to 400m from each mill, which transmit the data to the smartmolen system by either existing internet connections or the 4G mobile network.
The technology has been tested extensively at 5 sites across the country during a trial from July 2021 to June 2022. Each site presented its own challenges but enabled us to comprehensively test and refine the system reliability and quality. We are grateful to the other mill groups involved in the technology trial (Wilton, Fulwell, Polkey’s and Jill) for their support.
LIVE TELEMETRY AND WEBCAMS
The system is now installed in 7 windmills, covering the length and breadth of the country.
Live telemetry and windmill webcams can be viewed at www.smartmolen.com
DATA ANALYSIS
The smartmolen system keeps a full history of wind conditions and cap orientation, and offers a number of analyses including a local wind rose, a graphical history of recent movement and measures of the cap’s response relative to wind speed and angle of attack.
A full history of the raw data collected can be exported for use in custom analyses.
Add your mill
We have a small stock of the sensor and webcam equipment and would be happy to discuss the options and costs involved for installations at other mills.
To find out more, contact us at technology@upminsterwindmill.org
