A lot of valuable energy is wasted on rooms which no one uses, both at home and in the office. Thermostats can be pre-programmed, but do not adapt to changes.

Improvements can also be made in industrial settings. Most thermostats only take measurements in a single spot, but ignore differences in temperature within the room.

By using sensor information from different sources, Sense makes climate control much more intelligent, and more (energy) efficient.

Sense Solution
Sense uses MyriaNed wireless sensor technology for climate control solutions. Sense combines a large network of simple sensors with the intelligence of CommonSense, to build smart, dynamic applications.

MyriaNed sensor nodes are cheap and small, so it is feasible to install many small sensors in a single space. This way you can take very precise measurements, registering small fluctuations caused by sun light, draft or air leaks.

CommonSense combines this information with data from online calendars or motion sensors in the building. This way, it is possible to turn on the lights or heating only in spaces which are actually in use, and save energy elsewhere. Energy efficiency does not need to cause inconvenience. If a conference room is scheduled to be used in the afternoon, the heating is turned on well in advance, even though the motion sensors do not register human presence yet.

Sensor feeds that can be used for intelligent climate control include:

• MyriaNed WSN measuring climate (temperature, humidity, CO2, air pressure)
• MyriaNed WSN measuring activity in the room (motion, a/c current)
• Online calendars and planning tools

Advantages:

• Install as many nodes as you need: MyriaNed nodes are simple and thus very cheap
• The nodes are small, so easily hidden them from sight
• Easy installation: MyriaNed needs almost no configuration at the site
• Adjust the climate adjust to dynamic needs
• CommonSense adds the intelligence to combine a complex sensor network into a smart climate control system