Office Occupancy Sensor Layout Best Practices

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Introduction to occupancy sensor layout and the goals of a successful deployment.

Overview

This guide covers proven best practices for planning, placing, and maintaining occupancy sensors in office environments to maximize accuracy, protect privacy, and reduce installation costs.

Goals: accurate occupancy detection, privacy preservation, and scalable installation.
Environments: private offices, open-plan areas, meeting rooms, and corridors.

Key steps to plan an effective sensor deployment.

Planning your layout

Start with a site survey and clear objectives, then map zones and prioritize high-value areas for monitoring.

Conduct a floor plan review and site walk to identify mounting points and obstructions.
Define objectives such as desk-level utilization, room booking accuracy, or HVAC optimization.
Prioritize areas by expected occupancy dynamics and value of insights.

Choose the right sensor type and placement for the environment.

Sensor types & placement

Select between PIR, ultrasonic, thermal, or radar sensors depending on accuracy needs and privacy constraints.

PIR: good for motion detection in many office settings but may miss stationary occupants.
Thermal or radar: better for presence detection and desk-level sensing while minimizing image capture.
Place sensors to maximize unobstructed coverage of target zones and avoid direct sunlight or reflective surfaces.

Guidance on coverage areas and overlap to reduce blind spots.

Coverage & overlap

Design sensor coverage with modest overlap to ensure continuity and reduce edge-case misdetections.

Aim for 10–25% overlap between adjacent sensors to avoid gaps without causing excessive duplicate counts.
Model sensor footprints on the floor plan and adjust for obstacles like partitions and furniture.

Mounting practices that improve detection accuracy.

Mounting height & angles

Optimize height and tilt to align sensor fields of view with the occupied zones you want to monitor.

Ceiling-mounted sensors generally provide broader coverage; aim for recommended heights from the manufacturer.
Wall-mounted sensors should be angled to reduce detection of non-target traffic and avoid pointing at windows or HVAC vents.

Practical electrical and network considerations for sensor deployments.

Wiring & power considerations

Plan power sources, PoE options, and network backhaul for data and management to simplify installation and maintenance.

Use Power over Ethernet (PoE) where possible to reduce separate power runs.
Plan cable pathways and termination points to minimize visible wiring and future-proof for additional sensors.

Ensure deployments respect privacy and regulatory requirements.

Data privacy & compliance

Choose sensor technologies and configurations that avoid capturing personally identifiable information and implement retention and access controls.

Prefer non-imaging sensors or process imagery on-device to extract anonymized counts.
Document data retention policies and secure telemetry with encryption and access controls.

Validate coverage and accuracy before full rollout.

Testing & validation

Perform staged testing, calibrate sensitivity, and validate analytics against ground truth to ensure reliable performance.

Run pilot deployments in representative spaces to tune sensor placement and thresholds.
Collect sample data and compare to manual counts to measure accuracy and adjust settings.

Ongoing maintenance practices and how to scale deployments cost-effectively.

Maintenance & scaling

Establish a maintenance schedule, remote monitoring, and a standardized deployment process to support growth.

Implement periodic health checks and firmware management for all sensors.
Standardize mounting templates and cable runs to speed future installations.

Final recommendations for successful occupancy sensor deployments.

Conclusion

Follow a structured planning process, choose appropriate sensor types, validate performance, and maintain privacy to achieve reliable occupancy insights that drive better space utilization and operational efficiency.

Office Occupancy Sensor Layout: Proven Best Practices with Butlr