Occupancy sensors yield energy savings

A new software and sensor-based solution developed by computer scientists at the University of California, San Diego, is claimed to significantly reduce energy consumption. The scientists have come up with a way to use real-time occupancy sensors and computer algorithms to create smart heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems.

Based on early test results, the system is claimed to have produced electrical energy savings of between 9.54% and 15.73% on their test deployment on one floor of a five-floor campus building. “It’s clear that sensors and computing are key to reducing the demand for electricity in office buildings,” said Yuvraj Agarwal, a research scientist in UC San Diego’s Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) department.  On the basis of test deployment, the scientists estimated 40-50% in energy savings if the system was deployed across the entire computer science and engineering building.

In the US, buildings account for nearly 40% of primary energy use, and three-quarters of that consumption is electrical - half in residential buildings, half in commercial. Building HVAC systems are therefore ripe as a source of energy efficiency and cost savings. “Rising energy costs and damage to the environment have made scientists focus increasingly on major contributors to that consumption in the belief that even small improvements can translate into large overall savings,” said Rajesh Gupta, a co-author of the research, and associate director of the UCSD division of the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2). “We focused initially on computing infrastructure, and that led us to thinking about how to use computers to improve the efficiency of existing systems that regulate when HVAC systems go on and off in buildings.”

If you would like to know more about the new software and sensor-based solution, visit http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/article/25341.