XClose

UCL Energy Institute

Home
Menu

UCL-Energy continues to explore new research for Cisco Future Cities Project

30 January 2015

energy-abstract-motion

Over the past 20 months UCL Energy Institute’s research has focused on realizing the potential of Internet of Things and through the medium of ‘Connected Lighting’ delivering enhanced comfort alongside energy and power management in buildings. Connected Lighting uses a LED lighting solution that is powered, connected and controlled by digital networks.

The particular research has focused on the impact of the colour of light on occupant thermal comfort. Cisco Future Cities Project has done this in conjunction with UCL Computer Science, developing and testing a range of pervasive sensor systems for monitoring standard and emerging environmental variables influencing occupant thermal comfort. Within this collaboration, UCL-Energy decided which environmental parameters to monitor (e.g. temperature, relative humidity, etc.), and the associate precision and accuracy required. Based on this specification, UCL-Energy & UCL Computer Science chose the most appropriate sensors, then CS developed the board. Currently, UCL-Energy is calibrating the set of sensors, and UCL Computer Sciences is optimising power consumption.

The project has generated significant new finding in climate chamber testing, and this work is now being replicated in office environments. Once complete this equipment will be used in the next round of experiment. A major extension of this work is being planned with UCL, Imperial and Cambridge computer science departments and this work will explore fog computing, location sensing, and solutions to maximise the EnergyWise demand side response options for building energy management.