Embedded Wireless Sensor System for Applications in Building Energy Efficiency

Achieving energy efficiency in buildings depends on how well the energy consuming equipment are controlled while providing ease of use and comfort for the occupants. There is a growing need to use modern smart sensors that can monitor environmental variables such as temperature, lighting, and humidity and send control commands to turn on energy consuming devices such as lights and motors in a building. On the other hand, a control system needs electrical power and hardware/software for its operation which can increase total energy consumption and cost. Therefore, there is a trade-off between energy savings and additional hardware and software systems to control devices for heating, ventilation, air conditioning (HVAC), and lighting. The proposed activity focuses on developing wireless embedded systems for sensory data acquisition to be used for efficient power management. In particular, the feasibility of implementing an ultra low power and cost effective embedded sensor system using the Bluetooth low energy (BLE) technology will be investigated. Considering that the BLE sensors are new, the techniques and processes to be developed in this project can be used in other applications.

Faculty Supervisor:

Dr. M. Moallem

Student:

Younes Rashidi

Partner:

Unity Integration Corporation

Discipline:

Engineering - mechanical

Sector:

Environmental industry

University:

Simon Fraser University