Grantee Research Project Results
Final Report: Chameleon Automated Residential Energy Management System
EPA Grant Number: SU834734Title: Chameleon Automated Residential Energy Management System
Investigators: Lough, Katie Grantham , Brennan, Cory Joseph , Glass, Bryan Michael , Baur, Stuart W. , Murdock, Austin , Brannon, Benjamin
Institution: Missouri University of Science and Technology
EPA Project Officer: Page, Angela
Phase: I
Project Period: August 15, 2010 through August 14, 2011
Project Amount: $10,000
RFA: P3 Awards: A National Student Design Competition for Sustainability Focusing on People, Prosperity and the Planet (2010) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Pollution Prevention/Sustainable Development , P3 Challenge Area - Sustainable and Healthy Communities , P3 Awards , Sustainable and Healthy Communities
Objective:
Many building control systems are currently on the market. Siemens, Control Logic of Michigan, and Energy Control Systems Inc., for example, fall under the category of energy management systems (EMS). Home Automation Inc., Elan Home Systems, and HomeSeer fall under the category of home automation systems. Few bridge the gap in any manner. The proposed Chameleon system targets consumer-level efficiency. It actively reduces energy consumption in buildings while still providing the convenience of an automation system. A concept that previously offered convenience at the expense of power now offers convenience while saving power.
The goal of this project was to implement an active energy management system, known as Chameleon, to provide home automation capability coupled with control decisions that actively manage the amount of energy that a building consumes. Specifically, the main technical objectives of the proposed Chameleon system were as follows:
- Combine both home automation and energy management systems to reduce energy usage through an AI-enabled (Artificial Intelligence) software/hardware system;
- Introduce a novel approach to electrical infrastructure design that engages and disengages entire circuits on demand to reduce overall parasitic energy usage;
- Leverage a single sensor suite to gather data to support multiple control commands;
- Offer a modular approach to system implementation such that Chameleon can expand to a more comprehensive system as a budget or residence grows.
Summary/Accomplishments (Outputs/Outcomes):
The purpose of the Phase I research of the Chameleon system was to prototype, install and test in the 2009 U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon Missouri S&T solar house. Simulations were completed using DOE Energyplus software. Prototyping was done on the National Instruments CompactRio FPGA controller platform around the Labview programming language. This installation allowed the testing of installation feasibility, communication accuracy, and user-friendliness.
The main issue found during installation was electrical interference. Failed communication attempts and low-voltage signal errors were noticed during initial testing. After switching unshielded wire for shielded or adding cylindrical faraday cages and relocating certain low-voltage lines away from power lines, nearly all interference issues were resolved. Installation also showed that, as with most things, new-built construction leads to easier installation; however, retrofit is still possible using standard electrical and carpentry techniques. After the house was returned to the Missouri S&T campus, all Chameleon hardware was relocated to the basement with wire placed into metallic conduit at a safe distance from power lines.
After installation and minor fixes, communication on the system as a whole was checked. The competition run of the Chameleon system covered a 7-day period, executed 3,271 actions, and read 14,843 sensor values. While it is likely that not all values and serial strings were transmitted without error, no communication errors resulted, thus indicating that the internal event handling of the system functioned as intended. With no external communication errors in 18,114 opportunities, the DPMO (Defects per Million Opportunities) and subsequent sigma rating indicate that the system performed above typical industry expectations. The small sample size and short test period hinder statistical analysis, but encourage further testing.
The competition run also allowed the testing of the interface and usability of the system on competition visitors and judges. Both stated that the interface was intuitive and provided all necessary function. Feedback was given requesting more home screen information detailing the performance of the system in regards to energy and monetary savings, which is being considered for the second phase graphical interface.
While the cost of the prototype system used, $33,818.70, is likely far more expensive than a future retail version, it includes control systems, intermediate controllers, sensors, actuators, end effectors, input nodes, and informational displays. Much of this cost is dedicated to extra equipment for testing and system development, which is unnecessary in a simple residential application by the consumer. The change from the National Instruments prototyping hardware to a microcontroller platform will also result as well as a large cost decrease.
Conclusions:
Concurrent to the optimization and logging detailed in previous sections, the prior Chameleon automation system will be refined. This project will focus on five key areas: (1) the interfacing of additional communication standards to facilitate the use of a wider array of devices and appliances, (2) control rectification, (3) detailed energy study of all components to be used, (4) a reduction in system power consumption (based upon the data obtained and the minimization of transformers and leakage) by change to microcontroller based hardware, and (5) a final study to analyze all results. Upon completion and verification of the results, automated blackbox testing will commence to ensure that the system exceeds the industry defect rate. These steps are further detailed in the proposal for Phase II P3 research.
To summarize, the project as a whole was a success. Prototyping was complete and installation took place on the 2009 Solar Decathlon entry house by the groups' electrical and computer engineering team. This house was taken to competition where a panel of professional judges was able to view the system and comment on its usability and practicality resulting in positive comments. The public relations group presented the home with the Chameleon system included to thousands of visiting tourists who also had largely positive comments about the system and its functionality and usability.
During prototyping, several Energyplus simulation sweeps were run to optimize the control logic for the system by the computer science and logic development group. These simulations showed that Chameleon has the possibility of causing very significant energy and monetary savings, thus creating a viable alternative or supplement to traditional renewable energy techniques.
Journal Articles on this Report : 3 Displayed | Download in RIS Format
| Other project views: | All 3 publications | 3 publications in selected types | All 3 journal articles |
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Glass B, Brannon B, Grantham K, Baur S. Expanding horizons with Chameleon: Team Missouri’s innovative home automation system. Energies 2010;3(6):1142-1153. |
SU834734 (Final) |
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Osborne A., Baur S, Grantham K. Simulation prototyping of an experimental solar house. Energies 2010;3(6):1251-1262. |
SU834734 (Final) |
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Wright C, Baur S, Grantham K, Stone RB, Grasman SE. Residential energy performance metrics. Energies 2010;3(6):1194-1211. |
SU834734 (Final) |
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Supplemental Keywords:
Energy conservation, home environment comfort, energy automationThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.