Wireless control of residential HVAC systems for energy

efficient and comfortable homes.

INTRODUCTION
HVAC (heating, ventilating, and air conditioning) systems are commonly used to provide indoor
occupants' thermal comfort, control indoor air quality, and optimize energy consumption of
buildings- (Nassif and Moujaes, 2008). Energy consumption of a HVAC system account for 40% to
60% of the total energy consumed in commercial buildings and residential homes in the United
States (DOE. 2009). Currently, residential houses typically have one set of HVAC system and
are controlled as a single zone. The single-zone HVAC control systems have difficulties to meet
various comfort requirements and are not energy efficient (Wang et al., 2003). Multi-zone HVAC
control systems can meet various thermal comfort requirements and conserve energy
(McDowall. 2007), but are complicated and expensive with more sensors and wires. It is costly to
run wires in new houses for multi-zone HVAC control and even more expensive to retrofit HVAC
control systems in existing houses from single-zone to multi-zone systems. Typical wiring cost
of industrial installations has been estimated to be $130-160 per meter while 20-80% of this cost
can be eliminated by adopting wireless technologies (Wang et al., 2006). Therefore, wireless
technologies have potentials to be used to develop a more affordable multi-zone HVAC control
system for residential houses to improve the occupants" comfort and reduce the energy
consumption.
Currently, the state-of-the-art wireless HVAC control strategy is to embed sensors in
microcontroller based RF (radio frequency) wireless transmitter and receiver systems, and integrate
the wireless transceiver system to either an existing HVAC control system or a PC or PDA
based monitoring and control systems. Typical sensors include temperature sensors, humidity
sensors, carbon dioxide ([CO.sub.2] sensors, light sensors, energy meters and video cameras (chung
and Oh, 2005: Jang et al., 2008). A wireless sensor unit is an essential component of a wireless
sensor network (Jang et al., 2008).
The key attributes of a wireless sensor network include RFcommunication range, reliability, data
transmission rate, and cost.Chung and Ob (2005) used 433.92 MHz RF modules with one-way
transmission(transmitter to receiver) in their design of a wireless monitoringsystem for indoor
environment. The maximum effective transmission rangewas limited at 10 m (32.8ft). A wireless
sensor network system forresidential buildings was built and tested in several residential housesby A
tens et al. (200b)- This network utilized the star topography,which caused a 10% packet loss error
and even more when all doors wereclosed. The transmission distance was greatly extended by
usingrepeaters between 'Mill MHz transmitters and receivers in thewireless HVAC control system
designed by kintner-meyer and Brambley(2006). In this system, control actions were introduced by
integrating awireless temperature sensor network to an existing HVAC control networkvia
translators. However, this significantly increased the cost of thesystem. The high cost has been a
primary factor that limited the wideapplication of wireless sensor networks.
The emergence of a low-cost and mesh-route wireless technology, ZigBee, has provided
opportunities to reduce the cost of monitoring and controlling indoor environment while improve
the reliability of the communication (Osipov, 2008). The ZigBee wireless standard has the
IEEE 802.15.4 physical radio specification and operates at the 2.4 GHz band worldwide (IEEE,
2003). Molina-Garcia et al. (2007) demonstrated a wireless heating and cooling load monitor and
control system using the ZigBee standards. This system provided the users with the information

of real time power consumptions for heating or cooling and the function of load control. But it was
not based on thermal comfort requirement. Watts et al. (2007) developed a ZigBee based wireless
multi-zone HVAC control system, winch only focused on the control of the vent louvers to retrofit an
existing residential HVAC system.
The application of ZigBee in HVAC control has been limited by the complexity of the hardware and
software. Little literature this reviewed the application of ZigBee based multi-zone wireless HVAC
control system for residential houses. Additionally, very few commercial wireless HVAC control
products provide, the users with the high network capability and easy-to-use integrated network
functions. Therefore, there exists a critical need to develop a simplified, low-cost, ZigBee-based.
and multi-zone wireless HVAC control system for residential houses. Previous researchers showed a
potential 50% energy saving of the HVAC systems by using wireless zone control strategies
(Taehwali et al., 2007). Therefore, it is necessary to assess the impacts of the wireless system on
the energy savings of residential HVAC systems.
The goal of this work was to develop a ZigBee based HVAC controlsystem for economical multi-zone
climate control of residential houses.The specific objectives are to:
* Develop a wireless sensing unit for indoor environmental monitoring.
* Develop a wireless ZigBee compatible damper and heater controller, and
* Evaluate the impacts of the developed wireless system on energy savings of residential HVAC
systems.
The functional requirements of the wireless systems include accurate measurement of indoor air
temperature, relative humidity (RH), and occupancy; accurate data transmission with close to 0%
error rate; and desirable control of HVAC devices. For the building HVAC control, the desired
accuracy of the temperature sensors is [+ or -]1[degrees]C ([+ or -]1.8[degrees]F) and that of the
relative humidity sensors is [+ or -]4% (Stum, 2006).
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Based on the functional requirements, three components were designed to form a wireless sensor
controller network: wireless sensing units (WSU), wireless damper controllers (W DC), and a
wireless HVAC device controller (WHO) (Figure 1). A wireless HVAC device controller was
connected to a commercial HAVC unit control panel and the control signal was output to drive the
HVAC units by switching the relays on or off. In each zone, a wireless sensing unit measured the
temperature, relative humidity, and occupancy. It compared the measured temperature and
relative humidity with the desired set points of temperature and relative humidity and wirelessly
sent control signals to the wireless HVAC controller as well as the zone damper controller. Wireless
damper controllers were mounted closely to air duct dampers allowing them to be turned on or off
based on the thermal requirement of the zone.
[FIGURE 1 OMITTED]
Embedded System Design of the Wireless Sensing Unit (WSU)
The wireless sensing unit consisted of a power supply, a user interface, a sensor measurement
circuit, a central processor, and a radio transceiver circuit (Figure 2a). A microcontroller was
selected for this application based on its sufficient digital I/O (input/output) pins, analog and serial

ports, SPI (Serial Peripheral Interface Bus) function, and low power sleep mode. The temperature
and RH set points could be set through a keypad, which was connected to the digital I/O pins of the
microcontroller. A digital temperature sensor was used. It has a 13-bit plus sign temperature
resolution of 0.03125[degrees]C ([+ or -]0.05625 [degrees]F) per LSB (Least significant bit) and an
accuracy of [+ or -]1[degrees]C ([+ or -]1.8[degrees]F) for a measurement range of 0[degrees]C (32
[degrees]F) to 70[degrees]C (158[degrees]F). It can output the temperature data via the SPI
interface to the micro controller. A RH sensor with an accuracy of [+ or -]3.5% and an output range
of 0-5V for a measurement range of 0 to 100% at 5V power supply was embedded to acquire RH
data. To detect human occupancy, a digital motion detection sensor of passive infrared type was
adopted. Its digital output was "1" (5V) for human motion being detected and "'0" (0V) for no
human motion being detected. To wirelessly transmit and receive the data, a ZigBee wireless
transceiver was implemented based on its low cost, low power, and easy-to-use characteristics. This
transceiver operates at ISM2. 4GHz and it can transmit up to 100m (32.8ft) in indoor environments
at the transmission rate of 250 Kbps. A printed circuit board (PCB) was designed and fabricated for
mounting all the system components (Figure 2b).
[FIGURE 2 OMITTED]
The Wireless Damper Controller (WDC)
The wireless damper controller circuit (Figure 3a) is similar to the wireless sensing unit described
above, except the sensors were replaced with damper control components. The key technologies
adopted in this wireless damper controller subsystem included damper PWM (Pulse-Width
Modulation) control and relay control. The 10-bit resolution PWM output of the microcontroller was
selected by the embedded software and used to control the rotation angle of the damper actuator
from 0[degrees] to 90[degrees]. The rotation angle of the damper actuator was linear to the input
control voltage (0 to 10 VDC). However, the maximum PWM voltage output of the microcontroller
was 5VDC; therefore, a quadruple half-H driver was used to boost the control signal from PWM 05VDC to 0-10VDC for the damper actuator control. The PWM signal with high frequency (40 kHz)
passed through an R-C (resistor-capacitor) low pass filter and thus a better square wave of PWM
signal could be acquired from the PWM signal than without the filter. The assembled wireless
damper controller is shown in Figure 3b.

[FIGURE 3 OMITTED]
The Wireless HVAC Device Controller (WHC)
The wireless HVAC device controller was designed to interact with a commercial residential HVAC
device (Figure 4a). Take a commercial gas furnace for example, heating, cooling, and fan were
controlled by wiring the standard control terminals on the control panel of the furnace to the

appropriate control signal. NEMA (National Electrical Manufacturers Association) standardized the
labels on a thermostat and HVAC controller terminals (W: Heating call; Y: Cooling call; G: Fan; R:
24 VAC Power). Three digital I/O pins of the microcontroller were programmed by the embedded
firmware to energize the coils of three 20Amp power relays by the quadruple half-H driver. The two
ends of the contacts of the relays were connected to the 24VAC power source and control terminals
(W, Y, and G) on the control panel of the furnace separately. Based on the thermal requirement, the
digital I/O pins output either "1" or "0" to activate or deactivate the connections between R and
X (X represents W, Y, or G). If the connection between R and W was activated for example, a
heating call signal would be sent to the control center of the furnace and the furnace would provide
heat. To analyze the performance of the system, a low power embedded data storage controller was
used to store the data to a compact flash card from the ZigBee module. The assembled wireless
HVAC device controller is shown in Figure 4b.
[FIGURE 4 OMITTED]
Control Algorithm of the Wireless HVAC System
Each zone is controlled separately by a wireless sensing unit and a wireless damper controller. The
control algorithm was on-off control with the temperature dead band of [+ or -] 1[degrees]C ([+ or ]1.8[degrees]F) and the RH dead band of [+ or -] 4%. In addition, the control was also based on the
occupancy. If no people were detected by the motion sensor within a certain amount of time that
could be defined by users, the wireless sensing unit would assume that the zone was not occupied.
Then it would send the control signal to the wireless HVAC device controller to maintain the
minimum temperature requirement of a house. For minimum human comfort requirement.
68[degrees]F (20[degrees] C) and 30% RH for winter and 81 [degrees]F (27.2[degrees]C) and 30%
RH for summer is discussed ac repair contractor sacramento in Chapter 8 of the 2005 ASHRAE
Handbook of Fundamentals (ASHRAE, 2005).
Evaluation of the Wireless HVAC Control System
Performance of the system was evaluated by analyzing sensor accuracy, wireless signal
transmission reliability, temperature control performance, and the system's impacts on the energy
consumption of residential houses.
Sensor Accuracy. The temperature sensors and the RH sensors were calibrated using a temperature
and relative humidity calibrator. Since temperatures in houses usually range from 10[degrees]C
(50[degrees]F) to 30[degrees]C (86[degrees]F) and RH range from 20-60%, four calibration points
for temperature were selected as 10[degrees]C (50[degrees]F), 18[degrees]C (64.4[degrees]F),
25[degrees]C (77[degrees]F) and 30[degrees]C (86[degrees]F) and four RH calibration points were
selected as 20%. 35%. 48%. and 60%. The calibration equation was derived by con-elating the
standard set points with the sensor readings.
Wireless Transmission Reliability. Tests were designed to verify the reliability of the system
communication within the ZigBee mesh network. A ZigBee module was programmed as the
coordinator of the network while other modules served as routers that could help route
data through the network. The coordinator that was in charge of establishing a wireless network
was embedded in the wireless HVAC device controller that was placed in the basement of a typical
two-story house with a size of 15x9 m (50x30 ft) on each floor. Other modules were placed
in different locations on the first floor and the second floor of the house and transmitted the data to
the coordinator continuously at 0.5 Hz for one hour. The RF packet size of the transmitted data was
22 bytes based on the measurement and control requirement, which included the node notification,

the zone number, the total zone number, the temperature and RH set points, and the measured
temperature, RH and occupancy data. This is less than the RF packet transmission capacity of the
Zigbee module, which is 72 bytes. RPR (Received Package Rate) that was calculated as the ratio of
empirical received data amount to the theoretical data amount was implemented to quantify the
effectiveness of the communication. The theoretical data amount was calculated by dividing the
miming time by 2 seconds. The reception intervals between connective received data were also
analyzed.
Temperature Control Performance. Both temperature and RH were intended to be controlled by
connecting the control terminals on the wireless HVAC device to the heater and humidifier or
dehumidifier. Since the control strategy of the temperature and the RH are functionally the same
and RH are not widely controlled in residential houses. Therefore, only the temperature control
performance was simulated in the lab. However, RH was still measured for the climate information
indication for users. To simulate the temperature control of various zones in a house, three
1.2x0.6x1.2 m (4x2x4 ft) environmental chambers were built and used as the control objects. The
chambers were made of plywood and insulated. Three heater-fans were used to heat the chambers
as a simulation of indoor space heating. The central HVAC controller was used to collect the data
from wireless sensing units installed inside the chambers. The wireless damper controllers were
connected to the heater-fan equipment to control the heater-fan's ON-OFF switches via relays. The
desired temperature set points were input from the keypad of the sensing units. The sensing units
sent out packaged data including chamber number, set point, actual temperature. RH and
thermal request to the damper controllers and the central HVAC controller. Analysis of the actual
chamber temperature versus their set points can reveal the temperature control performance of the
system.
The System Impacts on Energy Consumption of Residential Houses
The energy consumption used for heating and cooling in residential houses can be reduced by the
multi-zone and occupant specific temperature control in conjunction with the occupancy based
control strategy (Tachwali et al., 2007). The energy saving can be achieved by adjusting the
temperature and RH set points to the minimum temperature requirement o the houses if no
occupancy is detected by the system. This energy saving was estimated by conducting the following
simulation calculation. The heating energy consumption of a typical residential house located at
Columbus. Ohio (Mid West of the U.S.) was estimated using the Bin method, discussed in Chapter
32 of the 2005 ASHRAE Handbook of Fundamental (ASHRAE. 2005). The ASHRAE cooling
load calculation program, a supplemental program to Chapter 29 of the 200 ASHRAE Handbook of
Fundamentals (ASHRAE, 2001), was used for the estimation of cooling loads. The following
assumptions were made for the simulation:
a) The total area of a two-story house with a full-size basement is 278 [m.sup.2] (3000 [ft.sup.2]).
The height of each story is 2. m (8 ft);
b) The number of rooms is 12 and the number of the occupants is 4;
c) The materials of the house are listed in Table 1.
Table 1. The summary of the example house materials. Component Description Heat Transfer
Coefficient U-Factors Roof/ceiling Flat wood frame ceiling U = 0.031 (insulated with R-30 Btu/hft2-[degrees]F fiberglass) beneath vented attic with medium asphalt shingle roof. Exterior walls
Wood frame, exterior wood U = 0.090 sheathing, interior gypsum Btu/h-ft2-[degrees]F board, R-13
fiberglass insulation. Windows Clear double-pane glass in Fixed: U = 0.50 wood frames. Half

fixed, Btu/h.ft2-[degrees]F half operable with inset Operable: U = 0.51 screens. Account for 10%
Bfu/h.ft2.[degrees]F of the area of the exterior walls. Doors Wood, solid core. Account U = 0.40
for 5% of the area of the Btu/h.ft2.[degrees]F exterior walls.
d) The indoor temperature set point was 24 [degrees]C (75[degrees]F);
e) The occupancy schedule was assumed that people are present in a house from 6 PM to 8 AM next
morning Monday through Friday and all day long for Saturdays and Sundays.
f) The heat transfer from one zone to another is ignored to simplify the simulation.
PERFORMANCE TEST RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
Sensor Accuracy. The temperature sensors were calibrated using a temperature calibrator. Figure
5a shows that errors of sensors 1 and 3 were less than 1[degrees]C (1.8 [degrees]F), which was
acceptable because the accuracy of the temperature sensor is [+ or -]l[degrees]C ([+ or ]1.8[degrees] F) and errors of sensor 2 were greater than 1[degrees]C (3.6[degrees]F). Then a
linear regression was conducted to generate a calibration equation for the sensor. The calibration
equation (Figure 5b) was applied to the sensor reading to acquire the accurate temperatures.
[FIGURE 5 OMITTED]
Reliability of a ZigBee Mesh Network. The Figure 6 indicated that more than 98% of the node data
were transmitted to the coordinator. The 95% confidence intervals of the mean reception intervals
were all within [+ or -] 0.1 second. The time errors were caused by the continuous trial of the
signal link between the routers and the coordinator when the signal was weak and the time delay of
transmission in the air and the data processing and storage of the data logger. This error was
very minor. This indicates that the ZigBee wireless sensor network can work very reliably in
residential environments.
[FIGURE 6 OMITTED]
Chamber Temperature Control. Two tests were conducted for assessment of the temperature
control performance. Test 1 was to simulate the scenario of the one set point control, in which all
the chambers were controlled at one desired temperature set point. Test 2 was to simulate the
control of multi zones with various temperature set points.
In Test 1, the temperature set points of three chambers were 25[degrees]C (77[degrees]F) first and
28[degrees]C (82.4[degrees]F) afterwards. Figure 7 shows the plots of actual temperature as well
as the set points in three chambers. It indicated that the temperatures of these three chambers
were controlled within [+ or -]1[degrees]C ([+ or -]1.8[degrees]F[degrees] F) of the set points. The
maximum overshoot was 1.3[degrees]C (2.34[degrees]F) for positive and 1.2[degrees]C (2.16[degrees]F) for negative. This is acceptable for the thermal comfort because the
overshoot lasted in a very short time period and human skin was not sensitive to such a small
temperature variation. The rise time depended on the initial temperature. In this test, the starting
temperature was around 20[degrees]C (68[degrees]F). It took about 4.5 minutes for the
temperature to rise from 20[degrees]C (68[degrees]F) to 24[degrees]C (75.2[degrees]F) in chamber
1 and 2, 6.5 minutes in chamber 3. It took another 2.5 minutes for chamber 1 and 2 to rise from
25[degrees]C (77[degrees]F) to 27[degrees]C (80.6[degrees]F). and about 5 minutes for chamber 3.
More delay was found in chamber 3 because more infiltration occurred due to the poorer seal of the
door in chamber 3.

[FIGURE 7 OMITTED]
In Test 2, the set points of three chambers were 25[degrees]C (77[degrees]F) 23[degrees]C
(73.4[degrees]F), and 28[degrees]C (82.4[degrees]F) for chamber 1, 2, and 3, respectively, to
simulate different thermal requests from different zones. Figure 8 shows the actual temperature
and set points in three chambers. The absolute values of overshoots were less than 1.3[degrees]C
(34.3[degrees]F) in all three chambers. The rise time for 23[degrees]C (73.4[degrees]F),
25[degrees]C (77[degrees]F), and 28[degrees]C (82.4[degrees]F) were 2'36", 9'32", and 19'41",
respectively. It takes a longer time to heat the chamber to higher temperature set points as
expected. All these results from both Test 1 and 2 indicated that the system was controlled very
well.
[FIGURE 8 OMITTED]
This experimental test results just showed that the functionality of the wireless HVAC control for
residential buildings were well simulated in the lab. It is needed to integrate the wireless system
with real residential HVAC systems and conduct further studies on the performance of the system
and its impact on the energy savings. In reality, the residential HVAC control system is affected by
several factors such as solar heating, electric appliance heating, and air infiltration. These
disturbances can impact the control performance and cause discomfort. Therefore, it will be
http://24hourairservice.com/ very beneficial to study the integration of advanced control algorithms
such as fuzzy logic control, adaptive control, or neural network control with the wireless
HVAC control system.
Impacts on Energy Consumption of Residential Houses. When a zone is determined unoccupied, the
system will be maintained at the minimum temperature required to save energy. It was estimated by
using the simulation method and program discussed above that 8.500.000 Watts-hours (29.020,000
Bin)/ year, which accounts for 27.8% of the heating energy consumption, can be saved in the
heating season while 16.000.000 Watts-hours (54.630.000 Btu)/year. which accounts for 38.6% of
the cooling energy, can be saved in the cooling season. According to the current energy prices, the
savings are equivalent to about $193/year for heating and $462. year for cooling. Therefore, the
total utility savings would be about $655 per house annually.
Analysis on Cost. The costs of the materials and the fabrication of a wireless sensing unit, a wireless
damper controller and a wireless HVAC device controller were estimated as $164. $92. and $264
separately. If the amount of the control zones was six, then the total equipment cost would be
$1800. Assume the installation costs about $200 per hour and it takes four hours, the installation
fee would be about $800. The total cost of the wireless HVAC control system was about $2600.
However, this system has a great potential to be qualified for a residential energy tax credit of
$1500.
CONCLUSIONS
A low-cost, ZigBee-based. and multi-zone wireless HVAC control system for residential houses
system has been developed. The developed wireless HVAC control system consists of wireless
sensing units, wireless damper controllers, and a wireless HVAC device controller. In comparison
with previous work, this system has the following characteristics.
* Measure and control of indoor environment in residential houses without repeaters or
translators,

* User friendly interface,

* Increased reliability of the data communication (>98%) by the application of a mesh network,
and
* Simple connection interfaces between the controllers and the HVAC devices.
The temperatures in the three simulation chambers were well controlled within the range of [+ or ]1[degrees]C ([+ or -]1.8 [degrees]F) of the desired temperatures. The energy saving
estimation showed about 27.8% of the heating and 38.6% of the cooling energy consumption can be
saved.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support by the Ohio Agricultural Research and
Development Center. Acknowledgement also goes to Mr. Deck Manuzon and Allan Yost for their
valuable assistance in the experimental design and facility fabrication.
REFERENCES
Arens, A. E., A. Edward, D. Auslander, D. Culler, C. Federspiel, C. Huizenga, J. Rabaey, P. Wright,
and D. White. 2006. Demand Response Enabling Technology Development. Controls and
Information Technology: Paper Arens 2006_Demand Response. Available
at: http://escholarship.org/uc/item/0971h43j. Accessed on December 21, 2009.
ASHRAE. 2001. ASHRAE Handbook-Fundamentals. Atlanta: American Society of Heating
Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers, Inc.
ASHRAE. 2005. ASHRAE Handbook-Fundamentals. Atlanta: American Society of Heating
Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers, Inc.
Chung. W.Y., and S. J. Oh. 2005. Remote monitoring system with wireless sensors module for room
environment. Sensors and Actuators Bl 13 (2006) 64-70.
DOE (United States Department of Energy). 2007. Wireless temperature sensors for improved
HVAC control. Available at: http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS99122. Accessed on May 26, 2009.
IEEE. 2003. Wireless Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) Specifications for
Low-Rate Wireless Personal Area Networks (LR-WPANs). IEEE Standard 802.15.4. The Institute of
Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc. 344 East 47th Street, New York, USA.
Jang, W., W. Healy, and M. Skibniewski. 2008. Wireless sensor networks as part of a web-based
building environmental monitoring system. Automation in Construction. 17(6), 729-736.
Kintner-Meyer, M., and M. R. Brambley. 2006. Are Wireless Sensors and Controls Ready for the
Building Automation Industry? Selected Case Studies and Technology Development Activities.
Chapter 69 in World Energy Engineering Congress (WEEC) 2006 Proceedings. Association
of Energy Engineers. Atlanta, GA.
McDowall, R. 2007. Fundamentals of HVAC systems: SI edition. Atlanta. Ga: American Society of
Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers eLearning.

Molina-Garcia, A., J.A. Fuentes, E. Gomez-Lazaro, A. Bonastre, J.C. Campelo, and J.J. Serrano. 2007.
Application of Wireless Sensor Network to Direct Load Control in Residential Areas. Industrial
Electronics, ISIE 2007. IEEE International Symposium on, vol., no., pp. 1974-1979, 4-7 June 2007.
Nassif. N., and S. Moujaes. 2008. A cost-effective operating strategy to reduce energy consumption
in a HVAC system. International Journal of Energy Research. 32(6), 543 - 558.
Osipov. M. 2008. Home automation with ZigBee. Lecture Notes in Computer Science (Including
Subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics). 5174 LNCS,
263-270.
Stum, K. 2006. Sensor accuracy and calibration theory and practical application. National
Conference on Building Commissioning: April 19-21.2006.
Tachwali, Y., H. Refai, and J.E. Fagan. 2007. Minimizing HVAC Energy Consumption Using a
Wireless Sensor Network. Industrial Electronics Society, 2007. IECON 2007. 33rd Annual
Conference of the IEEE, vol., no., pp.439-444, 5-8.
United States Department of Energy. 2009. Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Building
Technologies Program - Commercial Buildings. Available at:
http://www.1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/commercial/hvac.html. Accessed on March 7,2010.
Wang, D., E.Arens, and C.Federspiel. 2003. Opportunities to save energy and improve comfort by
using wireless sensor networks in buildings. Availabe at:
http://txspaee.tamu.edu/handle.1969.1.5210. Accessed on February 11, 2009.
Wang, N., N. Zhang, and M. Wang. 2006. Wireless sensors in agriculture and food industry - Recent
development and future perspective. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture. 50 (2006) 1-14.
Watts, W., M. Koplow, A. Redfern, and P.Wright. 2007. Application of Multizone HVAC Control
Using Wireless Sensor Networks and Actuating Vent Registers. Available
at: http://repository.tamu.edu/handle/1969.1/6214. Accessed on April 12, 2009.
Hul Li is an Electrical Design Engineer at Sky Climber LLC. Delaware, OH. Lingying Zhao and Peter
Ling are Associate Professors in the Department of Food. Agricultural. and Biological Engineering.
The Ohio State University. Columbus. OH.
Hui Li
Lingying Zhao, PhD
Member ASHRAE
Peter Ling, PhD