Open Software-Architecture for Building Monitoring and Control

Information technology can increase energy efficiency by improving the control of energy-using devices and systems. Awareness of this potential is not new—ideas for applications of information technology for energy efficiency have been promoted for more than 20 years. But much of the potential gain from the application of information technology has not yet been realized. Today a combination of new requirements for the operation of the electricity system and the development of new technology has the potential to cause a rapid increase in the pace of adoption of improved controls. In this paper we discuss one promising avenue for technology advancement. First, we review some basic concepts with emphasis on open software-architecture. Then we describe the components of XBOS, a realization of this open software-architecture. XBOS has the ability to monitor and control many different sensors and devices using both wired and wireless communication and a variety of communication protocols. Finally, we illustrate the capabilities of XBOS with examples from an XBOS installation in a small commercial office building in Berkeley California

Event-Driven User-Centric Middleware for Energy Efficient Buildings and Public Spaces

In this work, the design of an event-driven user-centric middleware for monitoring and managing energy consumption in public buildings and spaces is presented. The main purpose is to increase the energy efficiency, reducing consumption, in buildings and public spaces. To achieve this, the proposed service-oriented middleware has been designed to be event based, also exploiting the user behaviours patterns of the people who live and work into the building. Furthermore, it allows an easy integration of heterogeneous technologies in order to enable a hardware independent interoperability between them. Moreover, a Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) control strategy has been developed and the whole infrastructure has been deployed in a real-world case study consisting of a historical building. Finally the results will be presented and discusse