Portable smart data logger for heating/cooling devices

 

Project abstract

Buildings belong to the large energy consumers class and account for 40% of worldwide primary energy consumption. The systems with the largest potential for improvement of buildings sector energy efficiency, with estimated nearly 60% of overall energy consumption in buildings, are systems for maintaining thermal comfort [1]. The commonly used heating/cooling devices are radiators, fan coil units, floor heating elements, ceiling cooling elements, etc. To develop a mathematical model of those devices which accurately describe the physical phenomena happening in real-life it is necessary to perform experiments and collect the data from real devices. Models trained on such data could then be used as a basis for development of model-based control algorithms or deployment of virtual software-based sensors for sensor-free measurement of device performance.

The implementation of the device is divided into the following mini projects. They could be studied independently (only certain mini project), sequentially (mini project by mini project) or could be divided between a team of students (every student one task), based on the students’ preferences.

 

Mini projects

  • As a first step it is necessary to define required hardware and software configuration which would enable development of compact and portable data logger device with the possibility to measure the temperature in at least 4 points. Also, it is required to consider the required length of the connecting cables, possibilities to mount sensors on pipes and to assure low-power consumption. The device should have the possibility to be switched to battery supply. The data read from the sensors should be stored to the database with variable predefined time resolution varying from 1 min to 15 min.

 

  • To make the data logger developed under the previous point smart it is necessary to develop a mobile or web application for monitoring current and historical measurements and selecting between different parameters of data logging which may vary between different heating/cooling elements.

 

  • Once the device is developed its operation should be tested by utilizing the device to collect the data for identification of different heating/cooling elements. The data should be collected under specific experiment conditions defined individually for different heating/cooling type. After collecting large enough sets of historical data, the mathematical model of the considered heating/cooling device should be identified.

 

  • The identified mathematical models of heating/cooling devices are a basis for development of smart model-based control algorithms or deployment of virtual software-based sensors emulating the performance of the real heating/cooling device.

 

Additional information