ETH Zurich : Computer Science : Pervasive Computing : Distributed Systems : Education : Student Projects : Abstract

Smart Heating System in Residential Areas (L)

Status: Abgeschlossen

Background

Global warming, the lack of fossil fuels and the resulting increase in energy prices induce an urgent need for sustainable buildings. Heating accounts for 70% of the domestic energy consumption in Switzerland. Some of this energy may be saved using thermostats which allow the temperature to fall to a deep setback while the occupants are not present. However, as manual thermostats are often cumbersome to use (e.g. re‐programming is often forgone due to their complexity), automatic solutions ‐ so‐called "smart thermostats" ‐ should be preferred.

Objectives

Contrary to previous work on the deployment of radio‐controlled thermostats, this project puts emphasis on providing a reliable smart heating system interacting with the residents to achieve high acceptance. Concrete aspects of the project include:

• Identify the specific requirements of a reliable system to monitor and control the temperature
• Design and implement an Android application for users to control the heating system
• Design a distributed software system considering modern software engineering techniques