Much of the maintenance inspection in power plants is manual. Energy is wasted by steam loss and inefficiencies. Not all air and water emissions are checked. Imagine instead a power plant full of sensors that continuously monitor the condition of pumps and fans, detecting failure of steam traps or leaking relief valves, and where all emissions are monitored. Instead of operators collecting the data, the data comes to the operators. Much of the maintenance inspection in power plants is manual. Energy is wasted by steam loss and inefficiencies. Not all air and water emissions are checked. Imagine instead a power plant full of sensors that continuously monitor the condition of pumps and fans, detecting failure of steam traps or leaking relief valves, and where all emissions are monitored. Instead of operators collecting the data, the data comes to the operators. Power plants are being modernized with a pervasive sensing infrastructure for a second layer of automation. This is a new strategy for maintenance, energy efficiency, risk reduction and optimization using sensors which require no wires and are mostly non-intrusive and therefore can easily be deployed. Specialized diagnostic software in a separate system distills the raw sensor data into actionable information, such as which equipment needs service and which does not. Wireless sensor networks and analytic software are new technology trends enabling new levels of availability, energy efficiency, environmental compliance and productivity. Pervasive sensing infrastructure is the basis for the Internet of Things, which will take sensing even further in the future.

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