Remote Industrial Monitoring: Wireless Sensors That Work Where You Need

Industrial operations in sectors like mining, energy production, agriculture, and water treatment have always extended into hard-to-access environments. For a long time, industrial monitoring processes in these locations were either cost-prohibitive or simply not possible without on-site staff and expensive infrastructure. That is now changing. 

Advancements in wireless sensors, battery efficiency, and global IoT connectivity have made it possible to monitor critical processes from virtually anywhere. Variables like temperature, flow, pressure, humidity, and level can now be tracked continuously, even in isolated areas, without needing to pull cable or send out personnel. 

In this article, we’ll look at why remote industrial monitoring has traditionally been difficult, how the technology has evolved, and what it takes to build a system that performs reliably in the field. 

Why Remote Monitoring Was Traditionally Difficult 

In the past, setting up remote industry monitoring systems came with a lot of challenges: 

• Power issues: Sensors and transmitters would drain their batteries in just a few weeks, which made them hard to use in places that were difficult to reach. 

• Connectivity problems: Many remote or industrial areas had weak or no cellular signal. Satellite connections were available, but they were far too expensive for most use cases. 

• Not built for tough environments: Many sensors weren’t designed for harsh conditions like extreme heat, heavy vibration, or moisture. As a result, they often broke down in places like mines, farms, or remote water facilities. 

• Data stuck in silos: Even when sensors collected useful data, it was often stored locally or in systems that didn’t connect easily with other tools. Getting that data into platforms like SCADA, ERP, or cloud dashboards usually meant writing custom code or using expensive integrations. 

In some cases, the sensors simply weren’t built for industrial use. In others, the data would collect locally but couldn’t be accessed or integrated with existing dashboards, control systems, or alerting tools. Without real-time visibility, operators couldn’t respond until it was too late. 

These challenges added up. The result was that many organizations either gave up on remote industrial monitoring or limited it to just a few high-priority locations. 

What a Reliable Remote Monitoring Architecture Looks Like 

Modern remote monitoring solutions combine rugged industrial sensors, low-power wireless connectivity, and cloud or edge data handling. A robust architecture typically includes: 

1. Sensor Hardware 

Industrial sensors must meet standards such as: 

• IP67/IP68 ratings for water and dust ingress 

• ATEX certification for explosive environments (oil & gas) 

• Operating ranges of –40 to +85°C for outdoor use 

For example: 

Pressure sensors: IOThrifty’s NP640, 0.25% accuracy, used in fluid or gas systems 

Level sensors: IOThrifty’s TL400, a non-contact laser level sensor 

2. Data Transmission Options 

• NB-IoT / LTE-M: Ideal for low-bandwidth, low-power, global coverage (supported by providers like 1NCE) 

• LoRaWAN: Useful for private networks over large facilities or farms (up to 15 km in rural areas) 

• Zigbee/BLE: Appropriate for short-range mesh networks in indoor or high-density settings 

• Satellite IoT: Becoming more viable via solutions like Swarm (SpaceX), useful for offshore or deserts 

3. Gateway & Integration 

• Gateways aggregate data and forward it via secure protocols: 

• MQTT/HTTPS/CoAP for cloud integration 

• Modbus RTU/TCP or OPC-UA for local SCADA systems 

• Edge processing: Devices such as the Advantech UNO series support rule-based logic locally, reducing latency and cellular traffic 

4. Cloud or On-Prem Monitoring Tools 

• Cloud Dashboards: ThingsBoard, AWS IoT Core, or Grafana for remote analytics 

• Alerting/Automation: Integrate with Microsoft Power Automate or Node-RED for event-based workflows 

• Analytics: Use machine learning models to predict anomalies based on time-series sensor data 

Key Enablers Driving Adoption Today 

Several technical trends have accelerated the deployment of remote industrial monitoring: 

• Cellular IoT Connectivity. Global coverage with dedicated IoT providers such as 1NCE. This is leading to new demand, which in turn is leading instrument manufacturers to design transmitters and gateways that are cellular first. Even devices that support WiFi often have cellular capabilities for additional redundancy.  

• Battery efficiency has improved, allowing systems to run for months or even years without replacement or recharging. For example, batteries on one of IOThrify’s newer products, the Climate Air+ can last up to 2 years. 

• Cloud and automation platform integration has become easier, reducing the need for complex custom software. Protocols like MQTT or Modbus TCP are now the standard and support is often built directly into IOT enabled instruments. 

• Edge processing is on the rise, letting sensors and gateways take local action when connectivity is limited or response time is critical. 

These advances reduce friction. Teams can now deploy reliable systems without needing a full IT rollout or expensive infrastructure. 

How Teams Are Putting Remote Monitoring Into Practice 

Across industries, operators are putting remote industrial monitoring to work in ways that are simple, scalable, and low-maintenance. 

At smaller, isolated sites, teams often install a single sensor paired with a battery-powered cellular transmitter. These units are typically pre-configured and require little ongoing maintenance. Data is sent to a cloud dashboard where alerts can be triggered based on thresholds or trends. 

In larger facilities, wireless networks allow many sensors to report to a central gateway. This reduces cabling and power requirements while giving a full view of operations. The gateway then pushes data to the cloud or local systems for real-time response and long-term analysis. 

Even in locations with existing infrastructure, organizations are upgrading legacy systems by adding transmitters or gateways that feed data into more modern platforms. This provides remote access and mobile alerting without replacing all existing hardware. 

In each case, the common thread is practicality. These systems are tailored to the environment, sized to the need, and built using proven components that keep costs and complexity down. 

To Sum Up 

Remote process monitoring is no longer a high-risk investment or complex engineering project. It’s a practical tool for increasing visibility, reducing downtime, and responding to issues before they become failures. With rugged sensors, efficient transmitters, and reliable connectivity, today’s systems are built for the field. Whether your goal is daily logging or real-time control, there is a solution that fits. 

At IOThrifty, we help teams build monitoring systems that are easy to deploy and built to last. Paired with global connectivity from 1NCE, we offer a complete solution for monitoring process variables from just about anywhere. 

John Coschigano runs marketing at IOThrifty, a growing online distributor of industrial measurement and control equipment. He works closely with customers, suppliers, and partners to shape the product offering and ensure it meets evolving market demands. Over the past two years, he has helped IOThrifty expand its reach in sectors ranging from process manufacturing to data center infrastructure. Prior to IOThrifty, John spent several years in the enterprise software industry, bringing a strong foundation in technology and customer engagement to the industrial space.