Wire-Free Tank Level Monitoring: E-Ink Displays and PIR Sensors for Remote Liquid Monitoring

Water tanks, chemical dosing tanks, fuel tanks, and process vessels are often spread across a site — or across multiple sites. Checking levels means a physical walk-around, a manual dip-reading, or a SCADA system that was never designed for simple level indication.

Running power and data cables to every tank is expensive, slow, and often impossible in remote or hazardous areas. S5 LiquidMon solves this with wire-free e-ink display panels and PIR-based level sensors — both battery-powered for a 5-year run.

The Cable Problem

Traditional tank level monitoring requires a sensor probe in the liquid, a cable back to a junction box, and a cable to the SCADA or telemetry system. For a tank in the middle of a paddock, or a chemical tank in a bunded area, that cabling can cost more than the sensor itself.

And if the tank is in a hazardous area — a fuel tank near a process plant, a chemical tank in a bund — the cabling requirements become even more onerous.

The Wire-Free Alternative

S5 LiquidMon mounts an e-ink display panel directly on or near the tank, powered by batteries. A PIR-based level sensor measures the liquid surface without contact and transmits the reading wirelessly. The panel shows the level in large, sunlight-readable digits — visible from 20+ metres away.

No power cable. No data cable. No electrician. The panel mounts with adhesive or two screws and runs for five years on batteries.

Why E-Ink for Tank Monitoring?

Tank levels change slowly. An e-ink display only uses power when the level reading updates — the rest of the time, the display holds the reading with zero power consumption. That’s what makes a 5-year battery life practical.

E-ink also has practical advantages for tank monitoring:

• Readable in direct sunlight — critical for outdoor tanks
• Zero light pollution — no glow at night, no disturbance to nearby residents
• Wide temperature range — operates from -20°C to +60°C
• Always on — the level is always visible, even when the network is down

Local + Remote Monitoring

The e-ink panel gives you a local, at-a-glance readout at the tank. The wireless backhaul — LoRaWAN, NB-IoT, or BLE — sends the same reading to your SCADA, dashboard, or alerting system.

If the network goes down, the panel keeps showing the last known level. When the network returns, the reading catches up. You never lose visibility.

Alarm Thresholds

LiquidMon supports configurable high and low level alarms. When the level crosses a threshold, the panel shows a visual indication and the system sends a remote notification — SMS, email, or SCADA alarm, depending on your setup.

For chemical dosing tanks, a low-level alarm can prevent a process upset. For water tanks, a high-level alarm can prevent an overflow. For fuel tanks, a sudden level drop can indicate a leak or theft.

Applications

• Water tanks — Potable water, raw water, process water, fire water
• Chemical dosing — Coagulants, flocculants, pH adjustment chemicals
• Fuel storage — Diesel, petrol, lubricants
• Process vessels — Tanks, sumps, pits, bunds
• Agriculture — Irrigation tanks, dam levels, trough levels
• Mining — Process water, tailings return water, dust suppression

See It In Action

Visit the S5 LiquidMon live demo to explore the monitoring dashboard, tank fleet, and alerting workflow.

Get Started

Contact S5 System to discuss a LiquidMon deployment for your site. We can pilot a handful of tanks and demonstrate the wire-free monitoring workflow in weeks, not months.