Specifications

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Section 1: Introduction / Definition
1.1 Executive Summary
Electrical Engineering is a diverse field with applications that affect everyone in
the world on a daily basis. Currently, one of the most vitally relevant and
important topics is the practical use and application of energy efficient devices.
An area in need of improvement is heating, cooling, and ventilation systems.
Heating, cooling and ventilation systems are important because they are found in
all residential and commercial buildings varying from amusement parks and
movie theaters, to apartments and homes. Without the service of air conditioners
people in hot climates would have a hard time surviving in the house in order to
perform their daily activities or routines and without heat it would be unrealistic to
live in cold climates.
HVAC systems primarily serve to deliver air for heating, cooling, and ventilation
for people. Florida‟s summer season from May to August encounters periods
where the extreme weather causes residents to stay inside due to high
temperature and humidity conditions. During these periods the HVAC systems of
all buildings work full time and become the largest power consumer of the
building. This situation presents the need for a control system to maintain an
indoor temperature and humidity while being as energy efficient as possible.
Our group is proposing to develop an HVAC control and feedback system. It will
control the conditions of temperature and relative humidity in the building. This
HVAC control system is intended to reduce the energy consumed by the user.
As a result of decreased energy consumption, the cost of running the HVAC
system will also be lowered. It will perform the traditional functions of an HVAC
system as well as have enhanced options to allow the user to select temperature
and relative humidity set points, introduce fresh air into the building, and select
from multiple system settings ranging from “Max Comfort” to “Max Energy
Savings.” The user will be able to introduce fresh air into the building based on a
set schedule, or current exterior conditions. By selecting a comfort setting the
user will have control of the amount of variance from the set temperature and
relative humidity points required to initiate heating or cooling.
The HVAC control and feedback system will send commands to a 1 ton air
conditioner and 2 ton air conditioner as well as a dehumidifier. The remote
sensing unit will communicate information (such as the temperature and humidity
values) to the main microcontroller which will then send signals to the appropriate
components. Based on current conditions the system will choose the most
efficient way to meet the demands of the user. The temperature and humidity
levels will be monitored from both inside and outside the building. Relays are the
hardware component that will act as the switch to turn the HVAC components on
or off. The control unit will have a LCD touch screen display preferably either
resistive or surface wave acoustic touch screen. The touch screen on the control