Sensor System for Self-Driven In-Home Climate Control (ECE)

Annually, the cost of air conditioning and heating equipment rises in cost anywhere from 5% - 9%. Coupled with the growing costs of electricity and natural gas, in-house climate control can amass enormous utility bills. Effective use of the windows in one’s home can help, but knowing how best to use the windows in your home is a non-trivial problem. We propose a project in which students are tasked with developing the hardware and software solutions to allow homeowners to make optimal use of their windows.

Objectives

Create monitoring module (at least 2 working copies) that is suitable for indoor or outdoor use that has/uses:

  • Temperature, humidity sensors
  • Re-chargeable battery
  • Custom PCB(s)
  • Wireless communication to transmit data
  • Weatherproof (IPX4) container
  • Outdoor mounting solution
  • Module + Housing must fit within a 3”x3”x1” space 

Create a computer program to display information to user:

  • GUI (desktop program, website, or mobile app)
  • Visualizes sensor data
  • Notifies user when to open or close windows 
  • Allows user to pair/unpair sensor modules
  • Allow users can create an “account” and tie devices to it
  • Ability to mark a certain module as indoor or outdoor

Motivations

Annually, the cost of air conditioning and heating equipment rises in cost anywhere from 5% - 9%. Coupled with the growing costs of electricity and natural gas, in-house climate control can amass enormous utility bills. There is no doubt that an air-conditioner is the quickest way to beat the heat, but because that isn’t always an accessible option, we look to optimize the usage of windows in one's home as a means of assistance.

Students on this project are to create a modular IOT solution, consisting of 2 or more pairs of devices, that can make window opening or closing recommendations in order to control the climate of a house. The recommendations will be based on data taken of outdoor and indoor environmental conditions. Time of day and orientation of the house will also be accounted for. By cooling a house through the use of temperature differentials, the environmental impact and electrical cost of AC units can be mitigated. 

This is an exciting problem to work on, with no clear cut answers on what determines the best way to use windows in one’s home. Students will need to collaborate to come up with creative solutions. We are excited for what you come with and hope you learn a lot from this experience!

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications:

There are no minimum qualifications for this project.

Preferred Qualifications:

We ask that you are enthusiastic, diligent and eager to learn. This project is suited for students interested in sensors, IoT, PCB design, wireless technology, CAD and microcontrollers.


Details

Project Partner:

Faaiq Waqar

NDA/IPA:

No Agreement Required

Number Groups:

1

Project Status:

Accepting Applicants

Keywords:
CloudIoTRFMicrocontrollersSensorsWireless CommunicationSmart HomeCAD
Card Image Capstone