Inspiration
Automated HVAC solutions Homes and office buildings require constant attention to HVAC settings to avoid over-heating and over-cooling. This constant flex in temperature cost a lot of money and consumes mass amounts of energy. In New York state, heating and cooling accounts for ~44% of a business's energy consumption.
What it does
- Automatically adjusts vent dampener to prevent overheating & overcooling
How I built it
Circuit/programming part
- Thermister (temperature probe) reads real-time ambient temperature
- Sends signal to Arduino
- Arduino interprets thermister values comparing with calibrated set ambient value (flexible, not hardcoded)
- Arduino determines either open or close of dampener
Motor part
- Motor spins bearings
- Vent dampener moves up and down
Challenges I ran into
- Severe time constraint
- Getting temperature sensor (Thank you, Jorel Lalicki)
- Lack of coding experience
- Fitting components in limited space
Accomplishments that I'm proud of
- Working code to control temperature sensor & servomotor
- Successfully squeezing in components
What I learned
- Plan ahead
- Pressure gets things done
- Get right components
- Coding is doable
What's next for Soom
Quality Improvement
- Interaction with thermostat
- Mini wind turbine to supply power
- Noise reduction
- Low frequency RF
Cost Reduction
- Cheaper circuit components
- One to many: fewer extensive components
- One way communication
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