An Introduction to LoRaWAN: Advantages, Uses & More

The Internet of Things is growing at a rapid rate connecting everything from smart city infrastructure to agricultural sensors in remote fields. However, one of the biggest challenges is keeping these devices connected over long distances without draining batteries or relying on costly cellular networks. This is where LoRaWAN (Long Range Wide Area Network) comes in.

Here, the team at Pressac explore this communication protocol to find out more about its advantages, the industries that are already making use of it, and the key considerations when deciding if it is the right fit for your project.

What is LoRaWAN?

LoRaWAN may not be a household term that you are familiar with, but it could be incredibly important. It stands for Long Range Wide Area Network and is a Low Power Wide Area Network protocol designed for Internet of Things applications. It uses the physical radio modulation of LoRa with a network protocol to allow small Internet of Things devices to send data across long distances using very low energy.

It uses a star-of-stars architecture which incorporates many end devices, like sensors and actuators, which communicate with gateways. These gateways forward data to a central network server which processes or relays the data to application servers.

There are different device classes broken into A, B, or C with trade-offs between how often they can receive downlink messages versus battery consumption. Devices will spend most of their time in ‘sleep’ mode and wake only periodically to send or receive data.

LoRa uses chirp spread spectrum (CSS) modulation which gives good sensitivity and robustness to interference. LoRaWAN devices often operate in unlicensed frequency bands so there is no expensive spectrum licencing required.

The key benefits of lower one

One of the biggest benefits offered by LoRaWAN is its long-range capabilities. It is capable of transmitting across several kilometres and in rural areas can range up to 10 or 15km. In urban environments this is more like 2-5km depending on the obstacles that are in place and building density.

One of the other main advantages is the low power consumption associated with LoRaWAN. As end devices spend much of their time asleep and only transmit occasionally, battery life can span years rather than weeks or months.

LoRaWAN is incredibly scalable, as one gateway is capable of supporting many end devices. This means it is possible to grow a network simply by adding more gateways. The architecture of the system is designed to support large numbers of sensors and devices, making it possible to grow in any way that is needed.

LoRaWAN has also proved to be extremely cost-effective. As the spectrum is unlicensed, the infrastructure like gateways and sensors can be relatively low cost. It also means that there are reduced levels of maintenance needed due to the long battery lifetimes and minimal power needs.

Security is another important factor to consider. LoRaWAN uses encryption (typically AES-128) and device authentication, which can help to protect data integrity and privacy.

Whilst it might not be something that everybody has heard of, LoRaWAN is suitable for lots of use cases. Its range, power efficiency and scalability mean that it works well in agriculture, environmental monitoring, smart cities, asset tracking, infrastructure monitoring, and much more.

Uses for LoRaWAN

LoRaWAN is often used in smart agriculture through things like soil moisture sensors, weather stations and livestock tracking. As the devices can be placed far apart and battery replacement is difficult LoRaWAN is often the optimal solution. It is also used in environmental monitoring by incorporating air quality sensors, flood monitoring and forest fire detection. This is particularly effective in remote zones.

LoRaWAN is not just useful in rural settings, but it can also be part of a smart city infrastructure. Street lighting control, smart parking sensors, waste bin monitoring and traffic monitoring can all benefit from LoRaWAN, even in urban settings where obstacles can make life tricky.

LoRaWAN is also used to track equipment containers and devices in logistics operations, notifying operators of movement and location. As much of the tracking data is small and periodic the constraints of LoRaWAN work well within this industry. LoRaWAN is also very useful in utilities and remote industrial monitoring, where mains power or frequent access might be difficult. It can help with monitoring remote equipment, pipelines, pumps and water quality.

When LoRaWAN is the right choice

Coverage and gateway placement are important considerations with LoRaWAN. The terrain, obstacles and building density will all affect the signal. This is why rural open land gives much longer range, whilst urban or the inside of buildings can reduce it, meaning that gateways will need careful planning.

It is important to give a lot of thought to the battery life and device class, which will depend on how often downlink communication is needed versus the battery life trade-offs.

Data payload size and frequency is also an important consideration. LoRaWAN is best suited to those who want to send small infrequent telemetry or alerts.

It is important to pay attention to regulations, frequency band and duty cycle rules as unlicensed ISM bands are subject to limits. There are legal constraints on things like transmit time and power, so you need to ensure you have compliance with local radio regulations.

Security and firmware updates also need to be taken seriously as you need to ensure that your device identity encryption and over-air firmware updates are installed if needed. This will help to guard against the risk of any devices being compromised.

LoRaWAN offers a number of key advantages, including the fact that it is long range, low power, scalable and cost efficient. It is therefore an ideal solution for many Internet of Things deployments, especially those requiring periodic small data, remote monitoring or devices in hard-to-reach locations.

You should assess the needs of your project and look at the data type, frequency, power, and range and incorporate proper planning of gateway placement, device choices and network design to decide whether LoRaWAN is the right choice for you.