The building is subject to invisible but permanent constraints: temperature variations, humidity levels, direct sunlight.
Until now considered as mere secondary factors, these climatic elements are today becoming major forces of deformation and structural disorder, due to climate change.
In this context, the continuous monitoring of buildings by connected sensors is no longer a technical luxury: it is a preventive necessity to protect structures, optimise maintenance, and secure users.
The climate is changing. Buildings are reacting.
+1.7°C on average in France since 1900, with a marked acceleration since 1980.
Longer, drier summers, with high temperature variations between day and night.
Intense heatwaves, permanently affecting façades and materials.
A faster alternation between drought and intense rainfall, causing accelerated shrink-swell cycles in the soils.
The weather as a factor of movement: how does it work?
Temperature
Each material has a coefficient of thermal expansion. When it is hot, the material expands. When it is cold, it contracts.
This phenomenon is amplified by:
- Direct exposure to the sun (south, west),
- The dark materials (slate, bitumen, raw concrete),
- Low inertias (timber frame, lightweight partitions).
Sunshine
The solar radiation acts as an asymmetric heating on the building.
A highly exposed façade can expand locally, creating tensions in the joints or on the less exposed adjoining elements.
Humidity
Humidity directly affects:
- The soil (swelling or shrinkage of clay),
- The walls (porous materials that absorb or lose water),
- Fixings and anchors (corrosion, expansion of sealants).
These combined effects are subtle but cumulative, and can lead to costly disorders if they are not monitored.
Why install structural monitoring sensors today?
The FEELBAT sensors respond precisely to this new climatic situation: they allow for continuous measurement of the building's evolution while integrating environmental conditions.
- Measurement of micro-movements (cracks, expansions, settlements),
- Recording of temperature, sunlight, and variations over time,
- Automatic transmission of data remotely, without human intervention,
- Alerts in case of threshold exceedance or stability breach.
It is this ability to correlate a movement with a climatic context that gives the FEELBAT sensors their full value.
Press contact
Impulse Communication Agency Paris
Marie Legrand – marie@impulse-communication.fr – 06 09 88 62 27
Julie Dalsace – julie@impulse-communication.fr – 06 78 70 96 05