Third Newsletter SEPTEMBER 2013

Transcription

1 Third Newsletter SEPTEMBER 2013 TIBUCON is fi nancially supported by the European Commission under the 7FP. Self Powered Wireless Sensor Network for HVAC System Energy Improvement Towards Integral Building Connectivity LABORATORY TESTS A set of tests were performed at the premises of ik4-tekniker in order to verify the TIBUCON communication system. The purpose of these test deployments was to verify that the protocol creates reliable communication links, and that variable behaviours of individual nodes (due to unreliable links or energy fluctuations) progressed as expected. Two different buildings and scenarios were selected for the verifi cation of the communication system. Although the test deployments were performed in a controlled environment they were designed to be as similar as possible to the fi nal real deployment scenarios. All the nodes where programmed with the following simple behaviour where Er is the remaining energy in the capacitor, and THRn indicates the values of different thresholds. If Er > THRFULL, the node will accept as many children as necessary. If Er < THRFULL and Er > THRLOW, the node will not accept any children. If Er < THRLOW, the node will enter hibernation mode. This extreme behaviour was selected to introduce sudden changes in the communication links. Also note that the router behaviour was not hard coded on the router nodes. This behaviour was expected as the result of the additional energy available for these nodes due to the lack of sensor readings and their privileged location near energy sources. In order to accelerate the energy depletion cycle and for fairness in comparison of node energy consumption, all the available application data space was filled in the communication packets, up to the maximum. Thus, the whole communication slot was used when data was transmitted or received. Also note that in the behaviour programmed into these nodes the communication cycle with the parent remains static (30 s intervals in this case). Figure 1. Tekniker-Otaola test deployment topology example. Fig. 2: Tekniker-Otaola test deployment, photos. Tekniker-Otaola Deployment The network was composed of 14 devices with sensing capabilities (denoted sensor nodes ) and 5 devices that will not perform sensor readings (denoted routers ). The nodes were deployed over a number of fl oors and took into account the possible topologies and node PAGE 1

2 distributions that were going to be found in the real installations (Figure 1 & 2). Router devices were positioned in strategic locations where traffi c could be concentrated to assure link reliability between the furthest nodes and the gateway. Fig. 5: Demonstration buildings. Fig. 3: Tekniker-Goenaga test deployment topology example. Fig. 4: Tekniker-Goenaga test deployment. Tekniker-Goenaga Deployment In the second deployment the network was composed of 20 devices with sensing capabilities. The network was deployed simulating the distribution of one of the Lorea buildings, i.e a set of nodes were located in a straight row (as the backbone) with the gateway at a one of the ends. The remaining nodes were located in adjacent rooms (Figure 3 & 4). DEPLOYMENT IN SPANISH DEMONSTRATION BUILDING Building characteristics The buildings which were chosen for the project were: one 13 fl oor tall tower and two lower buildings, each 7 fl oors high. The tower used is building 80 and the two lower buildings are 84 and 86 which are next to one another (Figure 5). Preliminary RF Tests The objectives of these tests were: To detect interference sources existing in this scenario, and determine how they affect to communications in TIBUCON RF network In a highly populated environment it is expected that the most important interference source will be WiFi communications, so tests were performed in different locations within Lorea site in order to detect how many WiFi access points were available, which channels were in-use, and how much power was received in every location. Outdoor connectivity In order to study outdoor connectivity, communication tests between the boiler room and the building roofs were performed. In-building (indoor) communication Taking into account the effects of existing interferers (WiFi networks, e.g.) and the standard distance ranges for TIBUCON sensor in an indoor scenario, this test provided information to decide how many repeaters should be deployed, and where. Resulting from these tests, the fi nal version of TIBUCON architecture was defi ned to provide a successful TIBUCON sensor network deployment in Lorea test site. The deployment was performed in 3 phases. Phase 1: Installation of the backbone communication infrastructure Before starting the deployment of any sensor, the communication infrastructure must be installed (Giroa) to allow the interconnection between the gateways and the central controller located in the boiler room (Figure 6). PAGE 2

3 network works as expected, or to adjust the deployment to get the desired performance and link quality for the in-building backbone network. The fi rst test router backbone was deployed in the Lorea building 80 (Figure 7). The second test backbone was deployed in the adjacent buildings 84 and 86 (Figure 8). Figure 6: Deployment Phase 1. Figure 7: Building 80 Test Deployment Phase 2. Phase 2: Deployment of provisional (testing) gateways and node backbone The main objective for the preliminary deployment in the Lorea test site is to collect real data from sensors, so they will be deployed in the same location and condition as in the final deployment. Gateways were installed under the buildings, and connected to the boiler room through the backbone communication infrastructure. At the same time, and in order to perform fi rst communication tests without disturbing the neighbours, a provisional in-building backbone network of wireless router nodes were deployed in the stairwells of the buildings. Phase 3: Final deployment The fi nal wireless nodes were anticipated to be deployed in three main locations, these being: Within the main living space of the apartments. Communal/staircase areas. Meter rooms. Each of these three main node types was anticipated to have a different function in the overall system. Given the differences in their functionality and deployment environments it was anticipated that different node designs would be required for each location type. The main objective of this initial deployment is to perform connectivity and link quality measurements, and acquire status and monitoring data in order to verify that the backbone Figure 8: Building 84 and 86 Test Deployment Phase 2. Figure 9: Deployment for doorway 80 PAGE 3

4 Living Space Node 30 nodes were installed in buildings 80 (Figure 9), 84 and 86, the fuction of the living space nodes was to measure the required environmental variables within the apartment, with the results being transmitted onto the rest of the wireless system to Figure 10 Location of repeaters at the stairwell (buildings 80) Figure 11 Location of repeaters at the stairwell provide information to the (buildings 84-86) building control system. The anticipated siting of the nodes within the residential space was There are two locations for those repeaters: in the main living space as this is where the occupants would For the taller building (doorway 80), the installed place is just spend much of their time when in the property and not asleep. behind the glass wall available at every half landing (Figure 10) Due to the request of the building occupants, the installation For the buildings 84 and 86, the best place are some blind of each sensor needs an individual confirmation for the boxes which are available at every landing, due to a previous installation of each sensor and for each access to an apartment. installation made by a telephone company (Figure 11) Following steps were undertaken to persuade the apartment owners: firstly, a confirmation paper was delivered together with Meter Room Nodes an explanation of the project to each neighbour. Secondly the The function of the meter room node (repeater) is to receive schedule of each neighbour had to be solicited. the environmental data from the remote wireless sensor nodes Many of the neighbours hadn t even answered the confi rmation and to then process this data into a suitable form and then sheet (neither with a negative or positive answer). Each week provide this to the building management system for control the building administrator and the caretaker of each building purposes (Figure 12). helped us asking again for the confi rmation, however, the The sensors located in the apartments retrieving the number of received confi rmation sheets was much lower than temperature transmit their information wirelessly through the initially expected. backbone in the stairwell to the meter room node of buildings. Communal Space nodes These nodes are connected using MODBUS cables to the central building management system. The 3-way valves, the The function of the communal space nodes was anticipated to be acting as routing nodes to enable the environmental measurement data from the living space nodes to be relayed through the buildings and overcome the limitations of the wireless transmission range and propagation within buildings. Figure 12 Location of repeaters at the meter room (buildings ) Some repeater nodes were deployed at the stairwell of every building. PAGE 4

5 installed heat meters, as well as all the devices connected with the building telemanagement by Giroa are connected with the same central device in charge of collecting all the information generated by all those elements every 5 minutes and transmitting it to the MySQL database. This database is readable via the internet and its structure fulfils the requirements for making the analysis and simulations expected in the project (Figure 13). DEPLOYMENT IN POLISH DEMONSTRATION BUILDING The existing HVAC installation was inspected carefully to get the widest possible knowledge about it (architecture, used units and materials, Figure 13 TIBUCON communication scheme control, problems of using etc.) and get the information needed to integrate the existing system with new proposed TIBUCON devices. This was necessary since the TIBUCON system implementation was only meant to be temporary and followed by a full restauration of the existing system» SENSOR - the self-powered sensor node (Figure 14), mounted in the office area, monitoring the climate changes and sending the information to the TIBUCON system, by the means of wireless communication; one per existing clima-convector (22 units). after the demonstration period. Therefore the TIBUCON system» GATEWAY - the wireless communication link between needed to be in full operation without harming the existing system. the sensor and the TIBUCON Central Unit (needs 12V power connection), standalone device with wired System concept and list of equipment for heating connection to Central Unit (PC); (1 unit). control The presented concept shows conditions / assumptions of the TIBUCON system and the location and quantity of devices (with existing elements of HVAC system): Integration of TIBUCON» ACTUATOR the wireless communication device (Figure 15), it was used for controlling the climaconvector and radiator. In the project at first the actuators controlled radiators during the heating period. Afterwards they were moved and connected to the clima-convectors to control them during the cooling period. In a definite set-up there would be two actuators so that both the radiator and the climaconvector demands disconnecting Figure 14 TIBUCON sensor can be operated. (31 units). the existing HVAC» CENTRAL UNIT - computer running the advanced controlling system TIBUCON software, gathering the information during demonstration The TIBUCON system architecture consists of the following equipment: from the nodes (the TIBUCON sensors), controlling the performance of the HVAC system by continuous measurements and directly influencing member units, reacting in real time (needs 230V power connection); Figure 15 TIBUCON actuator with electro-valve (1 unit). PAGE 5

6 » ELECTRO-VALVE - mounted on the existing radiator, controlling the performance thereof, with wired data/ power connection to the TIBUCON Actuator; The electro-valves replace the existing thermostatic valves on radiators; (31 units). The Actuator for the radiator was mounted near the radiator on the plastic cable channelling (Figure 15 & 16); It should be deployed as one per every existing radiator (40 units), but in the demonstration building 31 actuators were installed. Several radiators were left uncontrolled in case of the event of a system failure so that the uncontrolled radiators could still be operated manually. Concept and list of equipment for cooling control In May 2013 the TIBUCON actuators for the clima-convectors were mounted to the slab in the suspended ceiling void (Figure 17), controlling the performance of existing clima-convector units according to data received from the TIBUCON Central Unit (needs 12V power connection); one per every existing clima-convector (27 units). Figure16 TIBUCON system scheme in demonstration building for heating control Additionally, two fl ow sensors were mounted on cold water pipes, helping to measure the amount of cooling energy consumed, and Hobo Zigbee sensors were used to measure the power consumption of two clima-convector units. Communication between sensors, gateway and actuators was able to be observed by using a special application that you can see in the picture below (Figure 18). Figure 17 TIBUCON system scheme in demonstration building for ventilation and cooling control Figure 18 Communication between gateway and sensors / actuators. PAGE 6

7 SEPTEMBER 2013 PAST EVENTS Innovation Convention 2011, Brussels, Belgium 5 & 6 December 2011 Jorge Berzosa from Tekniker is presenting TIBUCON system The Innovation Convention 2011 was led by the President of the European Commission, Mr. José Manuel Barroso and Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, European Commissioner for Research, Innovation, and Science. The event took place in Square Brussels Meeting Centre.The conference brought together world leading experts in research and innovation to share their views on building a global innovation economy.the sessions focused on themes closely linked to the priorities of the Innovation Union Initiative. They concentrated on various subjects such as how to support young innovative SMEs, how to create successful partnerships between universities, industry and the public sector and how to ensure more women are included in the innovation cycle. On the list of the speakers could be found Mr Eric E. Schmidt from Google, Mr Michael O Leary from Ryanair and Ms Vivienne Westwood. In the exhibition area around 50 European projects were presented. The TIBUCON project was presented on stand E, under the patronage of the Polish Presidency. Information Days on the Research PPP, Brussels, Belgium - 9 & 10 of July 2012 Piotr Dymarski from Mostostal Warszawa S.A. is presenting construction of the TIBUCON sensor During the Information Days on the Research PPP organized in Brussels the TIBUCON project was presented by the Coordinator. The main goal of this presentation was to show the main achievements at that point in the project. Construction of the TIBUCON sensor and the main components were presented and the choice of the energy harvester was explained. The first version of the user interface was shown. The Second International Conference on Building Energy and Environment, Boulder, Colorado, U.S.A. 1-4 of August 2012 The conference on Building Energy & Environment provides a platform for discussing energy and environmental issues and for initiating collaboration among building engineers, environmental scientists, architects, facility managers, and policy makers. At this conference, 120 scientific papers were presented in parallel technical sessions, alternated with plenary sessions.about 200 participants attended this conference.at this event, both the TIBUCON solution and the potential of parameter tuning in weather compensated controllers were presented. Participants of conference PROJECT INFORMATION COORDINATOR CONTACT PROJECT DETAILS Piotr Dymarski Mostostal Warszawa S.A. Konstruktorska 11A, Warsaw, Poland p.dymarski@mostostal.waw.pl Phone: (+48) Fax: (+48) Project Acronym: TIBUCON Project Reference: Start Date: Duration: 36 months Project Cost: 2.46 million euro Contract Type: Collaborative project (generic) End Date: Project Status: Execution Project Funding: 1.59 million euro Website: Website: Scan the 2D barcode to visit the TIBUCON project website Scan the 2D barcode to visit the TIBUCON landing page PROJECT PARTNERS Mostostal Warszawa S.A. Poland Tekniker Spain Katholieke Hogeschool Kempen University of Southampton E&L Architects United Kingdom Poland Giroa-Dalkia Spain IK4 Tekniker Spain