ACTIONS
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Nottingham
Department Name: Faculty of Engineering
Abstract
The aim of this project is to develop an innovative easy to install, flexible, low cost building monitoring and management system infrastructure and interface. The system is to be based on the power line carrier (PLC) technology currently used by TerOpta in their lighting control systems which has the cost and practical benefit of not requiring any additional wiring whilst also not being subject to the constraints and drawbacks of wireless technologies. This in turn will make the product well suited to both new build and refurbishment applications. It will also be well suited to smaller and simpler commercial buildings which would not traditionally have BMS installed. The product is to comprise of a basic energy metering and monitoring layer which is then expandable through the addition of supplementary modules (also to be developed as part of this project) which offer an ability to incorporate control and management functions of varying levels of sophistication depending on the building context and targets. Particular emphasis is to be placed on innovation in simplification i.e. creation of a BMS system that is as low cost, robust and as simple to install and commission as possible.
Planned Impact
The aim of this project is to develop an innovative easy to install, flexible, low cost building monitoring and management system infrastructure and interface. The system is to be based on the power line carrier (PLC) technology currently used by TerOpta in their lighting control systems which has the cost and practical benefit of not requiring any additional wiring whilst also not being subject to the constraints and drawbacks of wireless technologies. This in turn will make the product well suited to both new build and refurbishment applications. It will also be well suited to smaller and simpler commercial buildings which would not traditionally have BMS (Building management system) installed. The product is to comprise of a basic energy metering and monitoring layer which is then expandable through the addition of supplementary modules (also to be developed as part of this project) which offer an ability to incorporate control and management functions of varying levels of sophistication depending on the building context and targets. The existing building stock will remain the greatest users of energy in the built environment over the next century and therefore there is a real need to provide energy efficiency in such buildings by either fabric retrofit and/or new controls. Hence in terms of controls there is a particular emphasis placed on innovation in simplification i.e. creation of a BMS that is as low cost, robust and as simple to install and commission as possible.
The proposed technology can play an important role to control energy use in buildings in a number of ways. Firstly, by providing energy use information to occupiers and owners in order to promote behavioural change, secondly to be able to intelligently control heating, lighting systems etc and finally by producing a system, which is adaptive to the needs of people, climate and individual building performance. By reducing the energy use within buildings this will in turn reduce greenhouse gas emissions and can therefore can therefore contribute to the UK Government's target in cutting CO2 emissions and consequently global environmental protection. Additionally by reducing energy demand this will play a role in mitigating risks associated with energy security. Development of the proposed system also presents a great business opportunity. This system is not limited to any particular building or location and is therefore well suited for use globally. Exploitation of the proposed technology will create a new market for the project industrial partners and relevant manufacture and supply chain. The export of this technology will contribute to the UK economy recovery and growth. In general, the research would benefit companies along the supply chain, the national economy, environment, researchers and their institutions
The proposed technology can play an important role to control energy use in buildings in a number of ways. Firstly, by providing energy use information to occupiers and owners in order to promote behavioural change, secondly to be able to intelligently control heating, lighting systems etc and finally by producing a system, which is adaptive to the needs of people, climate and individual building performance. By reducing the energy use within buildings this will in turn reduce greenhouse gas emissions and can therefore can therefore contribute to the UK Government's target in cutting CO2 emissions and consequently global environmental protection. Additionally by reducing energy demand this will play a role in mitigating risks associated with energy security. Development of the proposed system also presents a great business opportunity. This system is not limited to any particular building or location and is therefore well suited for use globally. Exploitation of the proposed technology will create a new market for the project industrial partners and relevant manufacture and supply chain. The export of this technology will contribute to the UK economy recovery and growth. In general, the research would benefit companies along the supply chain, the national economy, environment, researchers and their institutions
Organisations
Publications
Whiffen T
(2016)
A concept review of power line communication in building energy management systems for the small to medium sized non-domestic built environment
in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews
| Description | The project has as its prime objective creating the means to identify and diagnose poor energy performance in a category of buildings that has previously been neglected. The project addressed a recognised need for an energy management system that will bring the benefits of Building Management Systems to the owners and occupiers of smaller buildings where the cost and maintenance needs of full BMS are not affordable. In a conscious effort to acknowledge other work in this area and to avoid duplication of effort, this project exploited existing technology as far as possible while introducing innovative technological solutions where they can bring the greatest benefit. Specifically, the project made use of existing power line communications (PLC) technology owned by the lead partner to enable the gathering of energy usage and environmental data and the automatic control of energy using devices. This involved some further work on development of the communications platform but principally comprised of developing means of assimilating and visualising gathered data for presentation to users and to allowing management of energy consumption through user interaction and/or predefined or self-learning algorithms. Innovation was therefore in refinement of existing PLC technology to work seamlessly at a whole building level, the choice of parameters to be controlled, in provision of interfaces to a wide variety of appliances and systems, and in the definition of the user interface and control algorithms. Through use of the power line carrier (PLC) based communications technology we overcome, the capital cost and disruption issues associated with retrofitting wired systems into existing buildings; the reliability and security issues associated with wireless systems and also; the deployment and commissioning complexity associated with both wired and wireless systems. The programme lasted two years, and culminated in a product been manufactured in the UK and sold worldwide by the consortium. |
| Exploitation Route | In general, the research would benefit companies along the supply chain, the national economy, environment, researchers and their institutions. This is specifically described as: (1) Project consortium: The industrial project partners can directly benefit from the project in terms of developing a new product range and knowledge transfer within the consortium. The academic participant will benefit in terms of improved research profile and exposure to the commercialisation atmosphere. The consortium as a whole would generate new income by licensing the technology to the third party. (2) Academic society: A new knowledge and experience about application of Building Energy Management systems will be gained, in particular relation to small buildings. The identified conferences or seminars will provide a channel to share these within the academic society. The outcome of this will provide new information and insight into areas of future research to move towards fully 'intelligent buildings' both in new build and more specifically in retrofit of old buildings. (3) The public: The project information have been published on the partners' websites and in the media to raise the awareness of the public and within commerce/ industry in relation to reducing energy use by means of BMS systems, which in turn provide financial savings and environmental benefits. They will also have the opportunity to experience demonstration of the developed technology by means of real life demonstrators. (4) The Government: The technology can contribute to the Government's UK Low Carbon Transition Plan, which was put before Parliament in July 2009 and committed the UK to achieve a 34% cut in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions on 1990 levels by 2020. Development of controls to more efficiently control heating/cooling systems and other electrical systems plays an important role in the reduction of CO2 emissions. Additionally reducing energy demand assists in mitigating risks associated with energy security and the need for more generation capacity. (5) The UK economy: The development of this type of technology has global applicability and is therefore ideally suited for export and international licencing. The market potential for the proposed technology is expected to be substantial as intelligent controls and systems which also have the ability to affect behavioural change will become increasingly important in the array of methods used in relation to energy efficiency in the built environment. The technology has global potential and this will enable the UK/international companies to develop new businesses, which will contribute to UK economic growth and create new job opportunities, which are expected to be achieved within 5 years of commercial development. |
| Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Construction,Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Education,Energy,Environment,Financial Services, and Management Consultancy |
| Description | The existing building stock will remain the greatest users of energy in the built environment over the next century and therefore there is a real need to provide energy efficiency in such buildings by either fabric retrofit and/or new controls. Hence in terms of controls there is a particular emphasis placed on innovation in simplification i.e. creation of a BMS that is as low cost, robust and as simple to install and commission as possible. The developed technology can play an important role in controlling energy use in buildings in a number of ways. Firstly, by providing energy use information to occupiers and owners in order to promote behavioural change, secondly to be able to intelligently control heating, lighting systems etc and finally by producing a system, which is adaptive to the needs of people, climate and individual building performance. By reducing the energy use within buildings this will in turn reduce greenhouse gas emissions and can therefore can therefore contribute to the UK Government's target in cutting CO2 emissions and consequently global environmental protection. Additionally by reducing energy demand this will play a role in mitigating risks associated with energy security. The developed system also presents a great business opportunity. This system is not limited to any particular building or location and is therefore well suited for use globally. Exploitation of the technology has created a new market for the project industrial partners and relevant manufacture and supply chain. The export of this technology will contribute to the UK economy recovery and growth. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2017 |
| Sector | Construction,Creative Economy,Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Education,Energy,Environment,Financial Services, and Management Consultancy |
| Impact Types | Economic |