Sensors provide 'intelligent' heating

A system that predicts homeowners’ movements and living patterns to help reduce their fuel bills has been developed by energy experts.

The technology uses multiple sensors to predict when a home or building is occupied. An algorithm then creates a formula that can accurately anticipate occupants’ lifestyle habits to control where and when in the house their heating should be on.

It would compete with Nest, an intelligent thermostat developed by Tony Fadell, one of the creators of the iPod.

Experts from the Energy Academy at Heriot-Watt University (HWU) say their system could be available within two years and significantly reduce fuel costs over time, potentially making millions of homes across the UK warmer and cheaper to heat.

"Nest is a state of the market product and an effective solution to automated home energy control," said Dr Edward Owens, of the School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society. "The smart sensor created by Heriot-Watt and partners builds on this approach.

"It is different from Nest because we use a multi-sensor approach and a new mathematical technique. We have designed a low cost system that detects change in occupancy, that is people leaving or entering a building, which enables you to quickly confirm whether a house is occupied, or unoccupied.

"These two features enable you to improve the accuracy of occupancy detection and increase potential energy savings from smart central heating control."  

Thanks to funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) the technology has been piloted by elderly residents living in social housing in Dumfries and Galloway, where 38.5 per cent of households lived in fuel poverty between 2009 and 2011. 

“Elderly people and other vulnerable groups can often have higher energy bills because they don’t understand how to work complicated digital central heating controllers." said Owens. "This system records your habits so it knows over time when different rooms in a home need to be heated and when they don’t,” said Owens.

Initial results suggest that the new system is 99 per cent accurate at detecting when a house or building is occupied, a significant improvement on current systems that are typically around 80 per cent accurate.

James Shirazi, director of investment and regeneration with Dumfries Galloway Housing Partnership (DGHP), said: “Elderly people, and other vulnerable groups, are often overlooked when it comes to technological advancements and are increasingly in danger of falling into fuel poverty.

“They also tend to spend more time at home than other groups which is why this sensor, with built-in smart controllers, will help them better control their heating – ultimately saving money in the process.”

The next phase of the project involves working with TreeGreen Ltd, an eco-friendly company that has produced Energy Egg, technology similar to household alarm systems which uses motion sensors to detect whether someone is in the room.

Eddie added, “We’ve applied to Scottish Enterprise for funding to further develop our smart sensor with TreeGreen. We hope to merge our occupancy sensor with TreeGreen’s technology to produce the EnergyEgg2 which will see our smart sensor technology communicate directly with central heating controls.”

Norman Kerr, director of Energy Action Scotland said: “While our insulation programmes are certainly providing the practical measures for people’s homes such as loft and cavity wall insulation, the benefits of these can be wiped out by the poor use of home heating systems.

“Sensors with built-in smart controllers are an exciting new approach and one that will hopefully assist older and more vulnerable people to better control their heating and save money in the process, ultimately helping to tackle fuel poverty.”

The Occupancy Detection Sensor research is part of the APAtSCHE EPSRC project that’s led by the University of Strathclyde in partnership with Heriot-Watt University and the Glasgow School of Art. It focuses on understanding the obstacles that prevent the elderly population benefitting from modern smart energy control systems.