The objective of this study is to design a low-cost system for long-term monitoring of advanced building envelope and evaluates its performance in comparison to conventional lab-grade sensors. Leveraging the potentials of a single-board computer and several low-cost digital sensors, the system measured thermo-physical and environmental parameters, including temperature, humidity, CO2 levels, airflow rate, lighting, and heat flux. The system's architecture allowed for easy integration and flexible connectivity, providing comprehensive monitoring capabilities at a fraction of the cost of lab-grade systems. A basic prototype is available in a GitHub repository. The systematic evaluation of the proposed concept involved three key experiments using a double-skin façade mockup installed in a full-scale climate simulator. Sensor accuracy over 24 hours was assessed through time-series comparison, showing high accuracy in recording air temperature, humidity, and surface temperature without on-site calibration, though calibration was essential for precise CO2 and lighting measurements. Key performance indicators of the thermophysical behavior of envelope systems, such as U-value and g-value, were derived for both the low-cost and lab-grade setups. Discrepancies of up to 7% in U-value and 13% in g-value were observed, confirming the system's reliability for building energy assessments. Additionally, the low-cost system effectively represented dependencies between independent and dependent variables, as shown by analysis of variance, closely aligning with the picture obtained from lab-grade sensors’ data. These findings validate the low-cost monitoring system as a viable, cost-effective alternative for advanced building envelope performance studies and indoor environmental quality assessments, highlighting the need for calibration of certain sensors.
Read full abstract
Feb 1, 2025
Mohamed Hamdi + 1
Just Published
Open Access