After the school term starts, the heating in 30 classrooms needs to be adjusted one by one, and the maintenance staff end up running themselves ragged.

During the hotel peak season in December, staff have to knock on doors after guests check out to make sure the air conditioning is turned off, which is both troublesome and affects the hotel's reputation — managing heating in commercial spaces during winter has always been a 'labor-intensive and energy-consuming' challenge.

The Modbus, BACnet, LoRaWAN, and other connectivity protocols of the MC6 smart thermostat happen to be the 'key' to solving these problems. Today, let's talk about how these protocols can help hotels, schools, and shopping malls achieve 'spend less, worry less' during the commercial heating season from November to December.

1. A Great Helper for Hotel Managers: Modbus RS485 Protocol Enables “One Room, One Control” Without Running Around

In December, hotel occupancy rates soar, and guests have all sorts of temperature preferences: some like it at 24°C, while others feel 22°C is just right. Relying on staff to knock on each door to adjust temperatures is not only inefficient but also likely to disturb guests — the MC6 with Modbus RS485 connection protocol allows the central control room to achieve “remote centralized management”:

Through the RS485 bus (two-wire system, A and B interfaces), the central control room computer can monitor the temperature of each room in real time (for example, Room 301 at 23°C, Room 302 at 21°C) and make remote adjustments immediately when deviations are found, without having to walk the floors.

The protocol supports 1-8 thermostat addresses, allowing hotels to group rooms by floor (for example, setting the 3rd floor to addresses 1-10) and adjust the temperature of the entire floor at once — for instance, in November, increase all guest room temperatures by 1°C at night without manual one-by-one adjustments.

After guests check out, the central control room can use the protocol to turn off the heating equipment in that room with a single command, preventing waste from “heating empty rooms” — during the busy hotel season in December, this operation can save about 20% of monthly heating electricity costs.

Even more practical, the Modbus protocol provides stable transmission, so even with many hotel rooms and long distances, there is no risk of “signal disconnection,” making it especially suitable for the high heating load period in November and December.

2. Key to Shopping Mall Energy Saving: BACnet Protocol, Suitable for Large HVAC Systems

In November and December, shopping malls experience high foot traffic, making energy saving in central air conditioning a key focus — if the first-floor entrance is blowing cold air while the third-floor dining area is generating heat, but both are controlled by the same system, it’s easy to have “cold in some areas, hot in others,” which also wastes electricity. The BACnet MSTP/IP communication protocol supported by MC6 can perfectly adapt to large HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) systems in shopping malls:

- Through the BACnet IP protocol, thermostats can communicate in real-time with the mall’s central air conditioning units and adjust the load according to the temperature requirements of different zones — for example, set 24°C at the entrance and 22°C in the dining area, avoiding a “one-size-fits-all” waste;

- During December promotional events, when foot traffic surges, the protocol can quickly respond to temperature changes, preventing the “crowded and stuffy” situation and enhancing the customer experience.

Communications: Modbus RTU ,Modbus TCP; BACnet MSTP, BACnet IP; Customized MQTT over WiFi; LoraWAN ;

3. No Worries About Campus Coverage: LoRaWAN Protocol Solves the 'Wiring Problem'

After schools reopen in November, places like the duty room next to the playground and the laboratories on the top floors of teaching buildings need heating. However, these locations are often far from the central control room, making wiring costly — the MC6's LoRaWAN link protocol (868/915MHz) perfectly addresses this 'wiring problem':

LoRaWAN is a long-distance wireless transmission protocol, allowing coverage of far-reaching spaces on campus (such as duty rooms within 500 meters) without the need for network cables, with installation costs approximately 30% lower than wired protocols;

The protocol supports 'low-power operation,' so even if the duty room uses the thermostat 24 hours a day in winter, it won't consume much electricity; the central control room can monitor the temperature in real time via LoRaWAN, preventing situations where 'the duty room's heating fails and no one knows';

For schools with multiple campuses, LoRaWAN can work alongside WiFi protocols to enable 'cross-campus management' — during the December cold, the main campus's central control room can remotely adjust the heating temperature at branch campuses without sending staff onsite.

In fact, it’s not just schools — hotels, shopping malls, and residential areas that emphasize centralized temperature control can also make use of this technology.