Elevate Building Commissioning recently deployed the Hobo MX100 data loggers on an existing building project. They were new for us so we thought we would share our experience using these small loggers.

These loggers are temperature only and have Bluetooth read out capability. We did not have previous experience using Bluetooth logger connectivity. For our application we placed 11 data loggers in strategic spaces around the building for evaluating several fan coil balancing issues. We took 24 hours of data to determine detailed heat inequities. The coolest part about the process was the ability to very quickly download the data to our phone (using the Hobo app) without having to connect to our computer with a USB. The screen shots of the data on the phone screen were easily saved and transferred to our report without having to use the Hobo Pro software. It’s also worth knowing that there is an option to download and export your data to the Hobo Pro software on your computer. In more complex scenarios with multiple days of data, this would definitely be required. But even on a 20-day collection period, you can still walk around the building at any time with your phone, select a logger that’s within range, and view it’s data in real time (with the choice to download/export data or not). Awesome!

Above is a picture of our phone screen shot (x3) that we used in our report. In summary, these trend logs are evaluating three zones on the same thermostat. The space configuration has changed (new walls) since the system was installed and the newer configuration caused significant comfort issues in the new spaces. Using these data logger trend logs along with the supply and return air flow measurements we took, we were able to confidently recommend new ductwork and balancing configurations for these spaces.