The article describes the result of the open source Smart lamp project. The first version of this “smart” object, built following a DIY approach using a microcontroller, an integrated temperature and relative humidity sensor and techniques of Additive Manufacturing, allowed to adjust the Indoor Climate Quality (ICQ), by interacting directly with the air conditioner. The Smart Lamp, placed in an office, showed how this approach effectively reduced the energy consumption, optimizing the thermal comfort of the workers. The holistic concept of Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ), in addition to providing thermal comfort, includes the Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) and the Indoor Lighting Quality (ILQ). The upgrade of the Smart Lamp bridges this gap regarding the possibility to interact with the air exchange unit and lighting system, in order to get an overview of the potential of a nearable device in the management of the IEQ. The upgraded version was tested in an office equipped with a mechanical ventilation and air conditioning system and occupied by 4 workers. The experiment was compared with a baseline scenario and the results showed how the application of the nearable effectively optimizes both the IAQ and ILQ.
First of all, thank you for explaining us the project you are working on, I think it is really interesting. And secondly, I wonder if you plan to widen the number of sensors in this project, or it is focused exclusively on IAQ and ILQ. Do you consider to introduce any other quality index in that environment, and if so, which of them?
Thanks in advance,
Rosa.
thanks for your interest. There is also another version of the Smart lamp that optimizes the Indoor thermal Comfort Quality (ICQ) and power consumption, by interacting directly with the air conditioner system via IR. You can find more details in this paper: http://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/16/3/338. You can also find a short funny video on youtube channel of this first version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDc9v8C5ej8.
Regards,
Francesco
