10 - IoT and cloud computing for building energy efficiency

Abstract

Improving the energy efficiency of buildings is one of the pressing problems that society faces. On the other hand, the acquisition of real-time data of the variables that affect energy consumption is another challenge in the building sector. The high cost of this type of devices, the dearth of instrumentation for the measurement of specific variables, and the lack of interoperability between them represent important barriers that limit the mass deployment of monitoring systems for the improvement of energy efficiency. This chapter deals with the implementation in a case study of a cost-effective, low-power, and long-range Internet of things (IoT) device for real-time monitoring. Due to the great impact that air leakages have on buildings energy demand, this variable has been taken as object of monitoring. To bridge the gap, an Arduino MKR FOX 1200-based device has been developed, which uses the low-power wide-area network Sigfox technology and the SDP810 differential pressure sensor. Then, the monitored data are gathered in the cloud via Google Spreadsheets and shown through an implemented dashboard with Data Studio. This research has shown that the development of open source–based devices supported by IoT technologies fits monitoring requirements in buildings. Energy efficiency of buildings has been the main aim of this work; nevertheless, the presented methodology could be scaled for multiple fields with smart requirements such as agriculture, mobility, healthcare, or safety management.