EE 322 Design VI /
HW2: Refined Project Proposal /
Tim D'Emidio /
02/03/2012 /
Today’s world is rapidly changing. In the past, restrictions on energy usage and concerns over the condition of the earth’s environment were non-existent. Now, industrialized nations like America must step up and influence the minds of its citizens in order to improve conditions. This kind of innovation starts at the university level, and with small start-up ideas that have the potential to grow. My project exemplifies engineering innovation and potential. It targets the common citizen and encourages a “green” attitude across residential and industrial settings.
My project proposes the development and construction of the smart home climate control system. As stated in my project proposal, this project is meant to be part of a large-scale project and would likely be built into entire housing developments. The goal is to lower the peak power usage on the power grid by efficiently controlling the way a series of houses maintain a comfortable temperature. Each smart house would be fitted with extra sensors inside and outdoors. This provides the system with the necessary information to make decisions. A typical scenario occurs as follows:
During a hot summer, a residential customer is running their air conditioning to keep their home at comfortable 68 degrees indoors. Their neighbor’s AC unit, however, is about to turn on as well. The units use a lot of power, and when many of them run in parallel the grid sees a spike in peak power demand. Larger peaks mean higher costs, greater energy usage, and therefore more damage to the environment. The system detects this and switches off to let the neighbors have a turn.
Notice how parallel usage is avoided by introducing a communication aspect to air conditioning, which accounts for a large amount of summer energy consumption. If the system could also incorporate automated windows that can detect when a breeze can perform as well as the air conditioning, then even more power can be saved.
There will be a demand for a system like this, and it will come from a variety of perspectives. The user, or in this case the homeowner, with a eco-friendly mindset can appreciate the long-term benefits of such a design as well as the lower energy bill they get in the mail. Overall, the homeowner wants to maintain an appropriate balance between a low energy bill and comfort. A system that takes away one’s comfort is foolish. It must be cheap over time, but also cheap up front. Before the homeowner even enters the equation, someone must sell them the property. The client of the climate control system, therefore, is the residential developer. Until they buy into the design, it is merely a computer and detached sensors. They must be convinced that the neighborhood should incorporate this technology. The developer must build houses that can sell to earn their share back. Also, if it is too difficult to incorporate into their current house layouts, then the idea would be shot down right away. It must be easy to build into a house, while also being easy to build in the first place. The designer of the climate control is the third stakeholder. They would only build something that amounts to a good investment. On a broader level, utilities also have some stake in this project. They stand to meet requirements for energy as defined in, for example, the PUC’s Act 129 [x] Failure to meet such a requirement results in millions of dollars in penalties. They must sell less of their product to customers, and so projects that foster the large-scale reduction of energy consumption is in demand.
There are many challenging aspects of this project. The ideal proposal of such a system dictates that a small-scale house be constructed and fitted with the sensors and computer components. Realistically, the idea should join with another smart house construction to further improve its overall performance. With a large team, everything can get done in a two-semester schedule. The climate control aspect still requires special attention from a dedicated group of students. Anything automated has a programming component that interfaces with the engineering aspects of the project. With that in mind, the group must have a computer scientist or engineer to set up the back end. An electrical engineer, such as myself, must be educated in the field of signals and how they can be manipulated. All group members should understand the big picture power engineering concepts that justify the purpose of the project.
The preceding personnel requirements would cover for my own weaknesses. My skill set includes an understanding of power systems and devices from a higher and lower level of detail. I have done some work with smaller systems on the scale of circuitry and processors. This experience was gained on co-ops, where I was taught the fundamentals and allowed to learn more detailed logistics as time passed. In terms of the programming, I do not yet have the ability to code a complicated, intelligent, and responsive control system. Someone would have to step in to determine what language suits the project best and put it to use. Another engineer with more experience with machine components could greatly benefit the team as well. A great deal of research and testing has to be done to be successful so one engineer cannot do this alone. All members of the team should expect to join with other teams and therefore must be able to work with others effectively.
A number of strengths and weaknesses result from a project with this much impact. It’s top strength as the project stands is the backing of the federal government. While it isn’t singled out as a required solution to the nation’s energy crisis, it is a step down that path. That demand stretches down to developers and customers through rewards. Many utilities, such as PPL Corporation, offer customer rewards for eco-friendly purchases [x] This demand for savings can only increase going forward, so the time to innovate toward this end is now. However, there are still some weaknesses to be addressed. The primary weakness is customer comfort. Every house is different and even the best simulation cannot account for every design. Research must be done to determine how developers currently design their houses and how this could change going forward. Customer dissatisfaction would all but kill this idea.
Opportunities are abundant for this idea. The core of the system simply controls a local supply of power-thirsty units, which were defined earlier as air conditioning units. As time goes by, many other technologies will be introduced to residential neighborhoods, including personal car charging stations. Expecting everyone to be able to charge their cars at the same time is outrageous from a utility’s point of view. Charging stations cannot exist without some form of control. Now while these stations don’t yet exist, other power-draining appliances do. Think of this project as a baby step toward something bigger and with even more impact. Large-scale users of power will become common-place, but not without control systems. Having said that, the idea can be dead in the water after one day if enough developers refuse to adopt the technology. A great deal of business knowledge and support will be needed to enter into this type of agreement. This is not simply an engineering challenge.
To conclude, this project is a unique and challenging undertaking for someone with an electrical or computer engineering background. A great deal of research and collaboration will be necessary for it to be successful. The main takeaway should be the incredible amount of potential this can achieve. The smart home will soon be part of our lives. One can simply observe the rapid innovation made by telecommunications and see the parallels in the power industry. This kind of rapid innovation is right around the corner for power systems, on a utility scale as well as a residential neighborhood scale. This idea is the beginning of my personal entrance to the innovative side of the energy business, and I’m hoping that others who share this interest will join me.
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