cenergy efficiency projects
Cooling Systems for The Home Depot Smart Home [project page]
In partnership with SolarFrost, The Home Depot Smart Home is developing a new technology that enables ammonia absorption cooling to take place at lower temperatures. A bypass loop allows hydrogen to absorb more ammonia from the water ammonia solution. With no moving parts, this system requires far more in labor than in parts to be built, making it ideal for third world applications.
Computer Controlled LED Color Blending [project page]
LEDs have become popular as a highly efficient, flexible and long lasting form of lighting. A computer controlled and programmable LED lamp containing red, green, and blue LEDs was set up, allowing for the dynamic blending of colors and intensities. Demos were programmed to demonstrate how this dynamic lighting system can be used.
Dessicant Cooling [project page]
Currently, desiccant cooling and dehumidification systems are being used successfully in industrial and various commercial markets and provide clear advantages in many applications throughout the United States. Desiccant cooling systems are used to improve the indoor air quality of all types of buildings by efficiently controlling moisture in large quantities of fresh, ventilation air
Energy Monitoring [project page]
The Home Depot Smart Home will monitor power consumption on a room-by-room basis and individual device level, in addition to measuring conventional whole-house readings. By designing each room on a different power circuit, we can begin to pinpoint areas of our building that are drawing the majority of the power. In addition, our device-level prototype can log and wirelessly stream power consumption data to a database for further analysis. The data we collect will drive future in the building, allow for load-shedding during peak hours, and educate consumers on their energy usage habits.
Geothermal Pump [project page]
Geothermal heat pumps operate using the principle that the ground temperature below the frost line remains at nearly constant temperature throughout the year. The heat pump uses the differences between the constant temperature and the temperature within the building to either transfer energy from the house to the ground (cooling mode) or transfer energy from the ground to the building (heating mode). Multiple compressors increase system efficiency by better meeting varying load requirements. Waste heat from the compressors can be used to pre-heat water for use in showers and dishwashers.
Advanced HVAC Control and Artificial Intelligence Controllers [project page]
This controller grows smarter as its neural network learns the relationship between occupant behavior patterns and room temperature fluctuations to recommend the most efficient and cost effective heating/cooling scheme.
LED Lighting [project page]
LED lights are a high output, low energy alternative to conventional lights that are compatible with conventional light sockets and can be customized to provide different output tones through color mixing.
LED Implementation [project page]
A comprehensive look at why The Home Depot Smart Home should use LED lighting.
Residential Piezoelectric Energy Sources [project page]
The Home Depot Smart Home is going to have a large number of sensors and microelectronic devices located throughout the house. These devices will need a clean, reliable source of energy that will not need constant maintenance. The goal of this project is to utilize piezoelectric energy sources to provide power to sensor and other low-power applications in the house.
Shower Heat Recovery [project page]
Students designed a concentric counter-flow heat exchanger, with the draining hot-water flowing on the outside and the incoming cold water flowing in the opposite direction, to salvage heat from wastewater for re-use in air and water heating applications. Initial efficiency recovery results were as high as 88%.
Single Fuel Household [project page]
Modern houses are rarely suited for a single fuel type other than electricity which remains too expensive for long-term cost-savings. Natural Gas in conjunction with a fuel cell could power The Home Depot Smart Home in a new efficient manner that makes power distribution and heating/cooling more efficient on the residential scale.
Solar Cooling [project page]
SBM Solar has developed a new photovoltaic (PV) technology that replaces traditional glass with aluminum composite material. The PV Tech project addresses the problem of cooling these modules through effective, sustainable methods. This presentation summarizes the PV Tech Team’s work throughout the Fall semester.