Sensors

Office occupancy sensors: types and how to choose.

They don’t all answer the same question. Some tell you whether anyone is there; others, how many people; others, how it feels. Here’s how to choose, based on what you want to decide.

By Carles Morales, founder of Orpheus · 19 October 2026

Request a demo Get more info

The types

Each sensor answers one question.

Presence detector (PIR)

Is anyone there?

In rooms and small zones, on the ceiling or wall.

Misses: How many people there are. And it can miss someone who stays still for a long time.

In Orpheus: The presence sensor in Meet rooms.

Under-desk sensor

Is this desk taken?

One on every desk.

Misses: What happens away from the desk: rooms, common areas, people standing. And it’s a lot of devices to maintain.

In Orpheus: We don’t use it: one ceiling counter covers a whole zone.

People counter (ceiling)

How many people are in this zone or room?

On the ceiling, roughly one every 70 m².

Misses: What happens outside its zone, which is why they’re spread across the floor.

In Orpheus: CountSensor: counts with AI inside the device and only sends numbers, no images.

Entry counter (doorways)

How many come in and go out?

At doorways: the building, a floor or the canteen.

Misses: Where people are once inside, and how long they stay.

In Orpheus: The canteen counters in Cafe.

Environmental sensor

How does it feel?

On the wall, one per zone.

Misses: How many people there are. That’s why it’s paired with the others: comfort depends on occupancy.

In Orpheus: MultiSensor, MultiSensor+ and WellSensor: temperature, humidity, CO₂, noise, light and more.

Wifi and badge data

Who came in?

They’re already on your network and turnstiles: nothing to install.

Misses: Where each person is and for how long. One person carries two or three devices, and three people can walk in on one badge.

In Orpheus: We don’t use them to measure occupancy.

How to choose

Six questions before you choose.

What do you want to decide?: Space and floors call for people counters. Freeing rooms calls for a sensor in each room. Comfort calls for environmental sensors.
How much do you need to cover?: Floor space, floors and rooms. Each counter covers an area, so the count comes from the floor plan.
What will privacy say?: That it should count without identifying anyone and without storing or sending images: numbers only. That’s the data minimisation GDPR asks for.
What will IT say?: If the sensors go on the company network, there’ll be a security review. With their own radio (LoRaWAN) and a mobile uplink, they don’t touch the network.
How are they powered?: By battery, which lasts years and needs no building work, or from the mains, like ceiling counters.
Where does the data end up?: A sensor without a platform only gives you numbers. What matters is seeing them by floor and by hour, with reports for leadership and an API for your tools.

Get more info

How many would your building need?

Leave your name and email and we’ll tell you which sensors fit, where they’d go and when you’d have the first data.

How many

A quick count.

Open space: One people counter roughly every 70 m². A floor with 1,000 m² of open space, about 15.
Meeting rooms: One sensor per room.
Comfort: One environmental sensor per zone.
Connection: One Hub roughly every two floors.

It depends on each floor’s shape and what’s in the way. We work it out with you on the floor plan.

Gear

Orpheus’ sensors.

They count people and measure how each space feels, with no building work and nothing touching your network. The Hub sends it all to Space over the mobile network.