Accurate characterization of building characteristics that influence indoor air quality (IAQ), thermal comfort, and energy consumption in... Show moreAccurate characterization of building characteristics that influence indoor air quality (IAQ), thermal comfort, and energy consumption in buildings is often limited to the use of proprietary hardware and software, which can adversely affect both functionality and costs. In response, the Open Source Building Science Sensors (OSBSS) project was launched to design and develop a network of inexpensive open source devices based on the Arduino platform for measuring and recording long-term indoor environmental and building operational data. The project includes a variety of sensors and dataloggers designed to assess energy, comfort, and air quality in buildings, including air and surface temperatures, air relative humidity, surface water activity, human occupancy and activity, light intensity, CO2, and a generic datalogger that can log data from other sensors such as HVAC system pressure sensors for determining system airflow rates or runtimes. The development, calibration, and performance of the sensor network is being documented in its entirety and made available freely online along with detailed tutorials designed to allow other researchers to incorporate the sensors in both ongoing and future investigations of energy, air quality, and comfort in the built environment. The OSBSS network of devices will ultimately allow for more flexibility in synchronizing a large number of measurements with high spatial and temporal resolution in a more cost effective manner for use in research projects and building automation and control. M.S. in Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, May 2015 Show less
