Wireless Measurement and Control of the Indoor Environment in Buildings

随着建筑物控制系统可用信息的增加，其控制可以变得更加复杂，并改善建筑物的运行。改善可以通过：减少照明、通风和温度控制系统的能耗，提高居住者的舒适度和生产力，并提高安全性。不幸的是，增加建筑物传感器网络的成本很高；不仅涉及传感器本身的成本，还涉及传感器与控制系统之间的线路运行费用。因此，大多数建筑物在运行时安装的传感器很少，这种情况导致效率低，室内环境质量差，并且增加了运行成本。最近，基于微机电系统（MEMS）技术的传感器被开发出来，它提供了无限运行的潜力，而不需要电线进行通信或供电。mems技术使用传统上用于制造集成电路的半导体制造技术来生产多种类型的设备，包括传感器、无线电、电池和电力收集设备。这项技术有可能消除建筑物中传感器所需的电线，因为这种设备可以做得非常小，因此只需要很少的电力。在这项研究中，加州大学伯克利分校建筑环境中心（CBE）的建筑控制能力与加州大学伯克利分校传感器和执行器中心（BSAC）的微制造能力相结合。该项目旨在为一个旨在研究将MEMS技术应用于建筑控制系统的潜力的项目提供初始资金。预计MEMS技术可实现的成本降低潜力和增加的信息密度将从根本上改变建筑物的控制方式。

As the information available to a building's control system is increased, its control can become more sophisticated, and improve the operation of the building. Improvements can be obtained through: reduced energy consumption in lighting, ventilation, and temperature control systems, improved comfort and productivity of occupants, and improved safety. Unfortunately, the cost of adding to a building's sensor network is significant; involving not only the cost of the sensors themselves, but also the expense of running wire between the sensor and the control system. As a result, most buildings are operated with few sensors installed, a situation that contributes to low efficiency, poor indoor environmental quality, and increased operating cost.Recently, sensors based on micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) technology have been developed that offer the potential to run indefinitely without the need for wires for either communication or power. MEEMS technology uses the semi-conductor fabrication techniques traditionally employed in making integrated circuits, to produce many types of devices, including sensors, radios, batteries, and power collecting devices. The technology has the potential to eliminate the wire required for sensors in buildings because the devices can be made extremely small, thus requiring little power.In this research, the building control capabilities of the Center for the Build Environment (CBE) at UC Berkeley are combined with the microfabrication capabilities of the Berkeley Sensor and Actuator Center (BSAC), also at UC Berkeley. This project is intended to provide the initial funding for a program designed to investigate the potential for applying MEMS technology to building control systems. It is expected that the cost reduction potential and increased information density achievable with MEMS technology will fundamentally change the way that buildings are controlled.