Small Workplace Air & Remote Monitoring
Connecting small offices with internet-thermostats
Energy Conservation Office, 2018
Concept
The UC Davis main campus houses around 1, 200 buildings of various sizes and usage. The larger buildings' HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) systems are connected centrally to the same control system and can be monitored remotely. Facilities Management has long wished for a similar system for smaller buildings, which make up about 15% of overall campus square footage.
In this project, I deployed internet-connected thermostats and electricity meters to increase occupant comfort, system visibility, and energy efficiency in a network of small buildings on campus.
Benefits
A simple online thermostat interface empowers occupants to schedule the comfort of their space.
Visibility to past trends lets repair technicians remotely troubleshoot.
A single person in the Energy Conservation Office can save energy by turning off all the small building thermostats during holidays.
The HVAC system acts as an infrastructure backbone to other projects such as monitoring buildings' thermal output with drones, or connecting the HVAC system to automated window openers.
Expansion & Recognition
I ran a pilot installation in three campus buildings. After working through the obstacles, I expanded the network to five more buildings while a fellow student worked on three more. Embraced by stakeholders all over the campus, UC Davis adopted the SWARM project into its standards for construction of new small buildings.
The SWARM project was awarded the Best Practice in Campus Efficiency by the California Higher Education Sustainability Conference (CHESC). I presented our findings at the 2018 CHESC in Santa Barbara.
The UC Davis team has expanded the program in the years following my involvement. As of 2024, SWARM saves the campus 700 MWh or $68,000 each year in energy. Check out the UC Davis website to see what the SWARM team is currently up to.
