Occupancy-Based Central Air Conditioning for Energy-Saving Comfort
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Solution Overview
Problem
Central air-conditioning systems face challenges in quickly adjusting room temperatures when occupants enter or leave, leading to energy wastage and comfort issues, as they typically follow a pre-set schedule regardless of occupancy.
Innovation Solution
A controller that uses infrared sensors to detect occupancy and movement in rooms, allowing for rapid temperature adjustments in non-target rooms when a person exits and ensuring comfort by maintaining the set temperature in occupied rooms, while reducing energy consumption by using energy-saving temperatures when unoccupied.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the temperature of a room is controlled to an ordinary set temperature according to a pre-set schedule, then comfort is maintained when a person is present, but energy is wasted when the room is unoccupied
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by detecting person presence/absence and pre-adjusting the temperature control mode before the person actually enters or leaves the room. When a person is detected leaving a room, the system switches that room to energy-saving temperature control in advance, and simultaneously switches other rooms to rapid conditioning mode, so that when the person enters another room, the temperature is already adjusted to comfortable levels.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements dynamic temperature control by continuously monitoring person presence and automatically switching between ordinary temperature control and energy-saving temperature control modes. The controller dynamically adjusts the temperature control strategy for each room based on real-time occupancy detection, transitioning from static schedule-based control to dynamic demand-based control.
2Loss of energy
If the temperature of a room is controlled to an energy-saving temperature when unoccupied, then energy consumption is reduced, but comfort is sacrificed when a person enters the room
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by detecting when a person is leaving a room and proactively switching other rooms to rapid conditioning mode. This preliminary adjustment ensures that when the person enters another room, the temperature has already been restored to comfortable levels, eliminating the comfort sacrifice that would otherwise occur when switching from energy-saving mode.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses feedback from person detecting units to continuously monitor occupancy status and automatically adjust temperature control modes. The controller receives feedback about person presence and absence, and based on this feedback, dynamically switches between energy-saving mode and rapid conditioning mode, ensuring both energy efficiency and comfort are maintained.
3Loss of energy
If the system switches temperature control based on person presence detection, then energy is saved in unoccupied rooms, but it takes time for the room temperature to adjust when a person enters
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by detecting person exit from one room and simultaneously initiating rapid conditioning mode in other rooms before the person actually enters them. This preliminary temperature adjustment eliminates the temperature adaptation delay that would normally occur when a person enters a room controlled at energy-saving temperature.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements dynamic switching between energy-saving mode and rapid conditioning mode based on real-time occupancy detection. When a room transitions from occupied to unoccupied, the system dynamically switches to energy-saving mode. When a room transitions from unoccupied to occupied (detected via person exit from another room), the system dynamically switches to rapid conditioning mode, minimizing temperature adjustment time.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution enables quick temperature adjustments in occupied rooms without sacrificing comfort and reduces energy consumption by dynamically adjusting temperatures based on occupancy, optimizing energy use and comfort.
Implementation Method 1
the person detecting unit includes infrared sensors for detecting the temperature in each monitoring area
Implementation Method 2
Cold air or warm air generated by heat exchange performed in the air-conditioning unit is supplied to each room via the air-conditioner ducts
Data Source
AI summary
Regarding rooms other than a room being targeted, a controller controls the rooms in energy-saving conditioning mode when a person is not detected in the rooms, even when the rooms are scheduled to be controlled in ordinary conditioning mode in a temperature control schedule. At this time, when the controller judges that the person has exited the room, the controller controls the targeted room in energy-saving conditioning mode, in rapid conditioning mode. As a result, the room is rapidly conditioned such that the temperature changes from an energy-saving temperature t to an ordinary set temperature by the time the person who has exited the room enters the room. As a result, unnecessary conditioning of the room set to be conditioning in ordinary conditioning mode can be reduced, and energy consumption can be reduced. In addition, comfort of the person entering the room can be ensured by prediction of the movement of the person.