We are designing a residential sensor network system with the following attributes would prove very beneficial for helping to monitor energy usage. The residential system must be sufficiently inexpensive so that the property owner would choose to purchase it. For example, a typical system should cost a home-owner approximately $100 - $200, and approximately $1000 for a small commercial building.
The sensors will be very easy to install and will simply be placed in appropriate locations throughout the residence and automatically start taking data and reporting it to a central node. The sensor nodes we plan to develop for will be battery powered, so they need to require very little energy to operate to ensure very long battery life. The sensors nodes will communicate with each-other and the base-station wirelessly and automatically. The data taken by the system will be displayed so the user can readily see and understand how the energy is being utilized at any particular time. It is also important that energy usage can be monitored from a remote location using the internet and related communications devices such as mobile phones. To realize such a next generation system, which is cost effective as well as accurate and comprehensive, we plan to use innovations in distributed wireless networks, sensors, compact computing and signal processing. Other attractions will include the ability to interact with the network using voice recognition. In addition, we plan on incorporating new remotely chargeable battery technology being introduced by the Maryland MTECH company FlexEl LLC, which means that the user will very seldom have to physically access the wireless sensor once it is place in the desired location.
To realize these attributes, we plan to maximize the use of signal processing algorithms and efficient software instead of utilizing costly sensors. We will design easily manufacturable sensors which will be aided by signal processing to ensure accuracy. The signal processing algorithms will be implemented with optimized embedded software that provides low power operation, and flexibility for developing feature enhancements as newer generations or alternative versions of the network evolve. The wireless network will be optimized to require minimum energy usage to maximize battery lifetime. The system senses the key items for energy use:
- Temperature
- Ambient Light
- Humidity
- Water Usage
- Electrical Usage
- Air Flow
- Gas Usage
As a second step toward energy conservation, we plan to go beyond energy monitoring in Phase 2 of our program. We aim to use the network to then provide feedback and automatic controls to reduce energy where appropriate. To achieve this we will plan to pursue two paths, one will be to work with existing manufacturers of energy control units. The other path will be to develop the control products themselves where they lend themselves to minimally invasive incorporation with existing control hardware.
