SDMay06-08 Industrial Review Panel Smart House Ventilation System April, 25 th 2006

SDMAY  Faculty Advisors Dr. Zhao Zhang Dr. Arun Somani  Client National Instruments  Team members Austin Kelling Carson Junginger Suwandi Chandra Gerald Ahn

Outline  Project Overview  Definition  Acknowledgements  Problem Statement  Operating Environment  Intended users & uses  Assumptions & Limitations  Expected End-product  Detailed Design  Network Setup  Device Control  Server Interface Design  Design Approach  Future Changes

List of Definitions  Floor - floor in this report is used to describe one story or level of a building  HVAC - stands for Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning, and is sometimes referred to as climate control. The acronym is made because these three functions are closely related, as they control the temperature and humidity of a building  GUI – acronym for Graphical User Interface  LabVIEW - Laboratory Virtual Instrument Engineering Workbench, a graphical programming language that is used to program the QBX module  QBX - A LabVIEW programmable hardware used to sense, process, store, and communicates via Bluetooth and serial port  VI (Virtual Instruments) - Sub-unit program in LabVIEW that represents the appearance and function of a physical implement

Acknowledgements  National Instruments  Dr. Zhao Zhang  Dr. Arun Somani  Jason Boyd

Project Definition  Find a way to use the remote sensing and controlling device QBX to automatically and independently control the temperature on any floor of a multi-story house.

Problem Statement General Problem  Every multi-story home owner suffers from undesired temperature differences on different floors of their home.  Normally thermostats are only on one floor, creating temperature differences amongst the floors.  More effective control is needed in order to control the temperature differences between floors.

Solution Approach General Solution-Approach  QBX modules will be placed on each floor of a multi-story house.  LabVIEW will be used as a UI (User Interface) so the system is easy to use and easy to control by the user.  QBX modules will be used to measure room temperature at all times.  The QBX modules will control motors used to open or close vents depending on the temperature of individual floors.  A central computer will be used to control and manage the QBX modules.

Operating Environment  Will be used indoors, and kept out of the rain, snow, wind or extreme temperature.  The QBX will be shielded from dust, household elements, and accidental bumping  The QBX modules will be placed centrally on each floor in an area with sufficient airflow to allow accurate temperature readings from each floor.

Intended user and uses Intended User  Multi-story homeowner Intended Uses  Control the temperature of each floor of a house independently  Control the air flow of heating or cooling elements depending on the differences between the actual and desired temperature  Increase convenience and efficiency of a home HVAC system

Assumptions 1/2 User Assumptions  User knows English in order to understand the user interface  User has basic knowledge of how to operate a personal computer  The host computer can only be accessed only by authorized users  The user has the server program running 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

Assumptions 2/2 System Assumptions  The system is designed for a three floor house  The system has a user friendly graphical user interface  This system is the only heating and cooling system in the house  The system is able to control the furnace and air conditioning electronically  The vents to each floor are able to be opened and closed by our system

Limitations 1/2  The user owns a computer running Windows XP operating system, and plans to dedicate some of the machine’s resources to the server program.  The host computer must have LabVIEW embedded installed  The user must enable remote desktop on the host computer for remote management  The user owns an IOGear GBU311 Bluetooth adapter, and it is connected to the host computer  The distance between each QBX module and the host computer should be no more than 30 feet. QBX modules placed beyond this limit may respond slowly or not connect.

Limitations 2/2  No other devices with the same Bluetooth ID as any of the QBX modules may be present  The temperature of the location where the system is installed must be kept between 0ºF and 120ºF. Exposure to extreme temperatures may damage the QBX modules.  The QBX module must be plugged into an AC adapter (5V, 1A) at all times  The duration of the project must not exceed two semesters; the team should consider a design that can be implemented in this time  The project budget should not exceed $150

End Product and Other Deliverables  Host Computer GUI  QBX Module with LabVIEW Embedded VI  Prototype Housing  User Manual

Approaches Considered  Wireless Router system using multiple QBX modules, capable of supporting computers and printers  Home control system and Other extensible modules for QBX  Ventilation Control System (Chosen)

Technology Considered QBX Connection with Host  All QBX's connected to wireless hub  Host computer Bluetooth adapter (Chosen) Ventilation Control  Commercial Stepper Motors  Old CD-Rom drive motors (chosen) Prototype Methods  Multi-level demo with hot and cold elements  Multi-level demo with hot element and exhaust (chosen)

Project Definition Activity  Tried to create a project that would be innovative, able to be accomplished in two semesters, costs under $150, and able to be demonstrated  Came up with the idea for a smart house ventilation system, with mach prototype of a three story house and heating system

Research Activities Major research areas  LabVIEW state variables  Prototype airflow control  Current amplifying circuit  Reed relay operation

Design Activities 1/2  For the host computer  The user will turn system control on or off.  The user will then set the desired temperature that each floor should maintain (+/- 3 degree accuracy).  The system will show the 24 hour history of temperature per floor

Design Activities 2/2  On the QBX modules  If the temperature of the floor that the QBX module is monitoring differs from the temperature set by the user, the QBX will open the vent, and if the temperature control device is not already on, the QBX will turn it on.  The QBX modules will all work independently to ensure that each of the floors of the house are at desired temperatures.  The prototype will accept commands from the QBX modules and will provide heating and cooling for demonstration

Prototype Circuitry

Main Control of Host GUI

Floor 1 for Host Control GUI

Implementation Activities  Programming Virtual Instrument using LabVIEW 7.1  Building prototype housing for demonstration  Integrate the Virtual Instrument with the QBX and the housing prototype

Diagram of Host GUI

Housing Implementation

Testing Activities  Tested network connection between QBX modules and host computer  Tested temperature sensors and system response to temperature changes  Verified QBX module voltage output  Tested the Graphical User Interfaces  Tested heating element output and floor temperature variation

Prototype Testing

Resources & Schedule  Personal Effort

Other Resource Requirement ItemTeam HoursOther HoursCost Poster Printing142Donated Poster Materials00$25.00 Bluetooth Adapter00$ SHT 11 sensors00$43.84 Soldering for sensors00Donated 3 Old CD-Rom drives00Donated Breadboard00Donated Assorted Electronics00Donated Prototype Housing & Ventilation00$30.39 Heating element00Donated Total142$149.98

Financial Requirement Labor ($11.00/hour) Carson Junginger$1, Austin Kelling$1, Gerald Ahn$1, Suwandi Chandra$1, Subtotal$ Total$149.98$6,100.98

Schedules 1/2

Schedules 2/2

Present Accomplishments Project Definition100% Fully Met Technology Consideration100% Fully Met End-Product Design100% Fully Met End-Product Implementation95% Partially Met End-Product Testing80% Partially Met End-Product Documentation100% Fully Met End-Product Demonstration100% Fully Met Project Reporting100% Fully Met

Project Evaluation Criteria 1/3  Project Definition Evaluation Criteria: This was evaluated as fully met due to the team selecting a possible project.  Technology Consideration and Selection Evaluation Criteria: The team evaluated how well the chosen technologies help the team design the overall system.  Product Design Evaluation Criteria: The team evaluated how well the product design actually fulfills all the specifications that were stated in the requirements section.

Project Evaluation Criteria 2/3  Product Implementation Evaluation Criteria: The team evaluated whether the implementation of the prototype reflects the functional requirement and end product design.  Product Documentation Evaluation Criteria: The team determined how clear the documentation provided to the user was.  Product Testing Evaluation Criteria: The team evaluated how well the prototype performs and if it displays the end result of the integrated system.

Project Evaluation Criteria 3/3  Product Demonstration Evaluation Criteria: The team evaluated the demonstration of the prototype and determined how well the system performs according to the definition and the design that the team stated previously.  Project Reporting Evaluation Criteria: The team evaluated if all of the documents the team wrote met the expectations previously stated.  Final Project Score The result of the project evaluation is 97.5%, an average of the different parts of the evaluation. This shows that the project has been successfully completed by the team.

Commercialization  The system is not ready to sell to the public. It would need to undergo much more development, and become more stable in order to be released.  Would need a generic way to connect to existing HVAC systems  The cost is undetermined because the QBX modules are prototypes and not in production by National Instruments.

Recommendations For Additional Work  Heating and Cooling element operation controlled by system  Extended range of QBX module communication  Efficiency analysis compared with a real house  Cost benefit analysis

Lessons Learned 1/2 What went well  Found or were donated many of the parts  QBX control of motors What didn’t go well  Defining the project  Slow early development  Documentation

Lessons Learned 2/2  Technical knowledge gained  LabVIEW programming  Experience with hardware software integration  Learned allot about output capabilities and circuit characteristics  Non-technical knowledge gained  Project management skills  Learned the importance of meeting deadlines

Risk Management  Anticipated risks  Delay of project design  Loss of code  Unanticipated risks encountered  Complicated airflow characteristics of the prototype  Low current driving capabilities of QBX modules  Resultant changes due to risks encountered  Changes in project goals  Faster project development

Closing Summary The main goals of this project are to:  Provide the user a cost efficient heating and cooling control of a multi-story building that is easy to use for technical and non-technical users  Introduce a smart module with wireless capability to independently control air flow in a home ventilation system