Research and Innovation April 2010

Brought to you by the students from the Electromechanical Technician program

Mark Valdmanis, Alex Kushnarenko, Michael Joyette

With the assistance of

Andriy Stepanenko, Support StaffUnder the supervision of

Leo Salemi, Professor CCET

in cooperation with

Don Martone, dx2 technologies

and a special thanks to

Home Energy Monitoring DashboardHome Energy Monitoring DashboardHome Energy Monitoring DashboardHome Energy Monitoring Dashboard

BackgroundBackground

This project was a spin-off from the primary research project at the Archetype House, Kortright Centre

The objective was to assist dx2 technologies with their work on an energy monitoring web portal

An Energy Dashboard would benefit the homeowner by making them aware of their energy use and

promote conservation and time-of-use consumption

dx2 technologies Energy Dashboarddx2 technologies Energy Dashboard

 

The Energy Dashboard can monitor key points in the houseThe Energy Dashboard can monitor key points in the house

dx2 dashboarddx2 dashboard

Customized menu options to Customized menu options to monitor key consumption monitor key consumption profiles/use for:profiles/use for:

•Electricity (wind/pv/grid)Electricity (wind/pv/grid)

•Water (municipal/cistern)Water (municipal/cistern)

•Heating (geothermal etc.)Heating (geothermal etc.)

DX2 DashboardDX2 Dashboard

Data can be displayed Data can be displayed in real time or by the in real time or by the week, month or yearweek, month or year

System can monitor wind, System can monitor wind, photovoltaic and grid power overall photovoltaic and grid power overall net power used/generatednet power used/generated

Dashboard for the Kortright CentreDashboard for the Kortright Centre

Live data can be logged over any period of time and displayedLive data can be logged over any period of time and displayed

String #1

GBC ContributionsGBC Contributions

Alex Kushnarenko

• Designed and commissioned the remote-site network to allow the GBC team, dx2 and other researchers to work off site

• This technology was developed in a previous research project and applied here

Michael Joyette• Set up the data-logging system to access data from

the photovoltaic panels installed on House B• This data was used in our primary research project

and by the Ryerson University team

GBC ContributionsGBC Contributions

GBC ContributionsGBC Contributions

Andriy Stepanenko• Designed the dashboard to view the Kortright solar panel data over the web

http://greenenergy.georgebrown.ca

GBC ContributionsGBC Contributions

Mark Valdmanis• Researched several technologies that can be

accessed via the web dashboard• Setup the Programmable Automation System to

monitor and log the solar panel data on the roof at Casa Loma Campus

Lessons LearnedLessons LearnedCollecting data to display on a dashboard was the

challenge:

• too many incompatible technologies and communication protocols

• installation and retrofitting sensors was difficult or expensive

• learning curve for some technologies was a problem even for experienced programmers

These issues need to be addressed in order for this technology to gain wide acceptance

ConclusionsConclusions

• Collecting data just for the sake of telling the homeowner how much they consumed will be a difficult sell given cost of implementation vs benefit

• If the data is used to save on energy costs, i.e. control lights, room temperature and provide comfort and security, then the return on investment will be justifiable

• Manufacturers, architects and home builders need to collaborate and make this technology available in all new homes

Future ResearchFuture Research

• dx2 technologies has agreed to partner with GBC once again to develop this technology so it can be used as part of an Intelligent Home Automation System

• dx2 technologies will provide a $1500 cash contribution and in-kind support and GBC will help with the design, installation and system testing

Thank YouThank You

Many thanks to our sponsors

for supporting our team and Ontario’s futurefor supporting our team and Ontario’s future