Specifications

unit can be commanded by the finger or a stylus. When purchasing the LCD

touch screen it will be composed of a touch sensor, a microcontroller, and a

software driver with the appropriate operating system.

Our system will communicate wirelessly with the internet using routers to

connect. . An integrated circuit chip embedded in the printed circuit board inside

the control unit will send and receive information from the router back to the

control system. Ideally, we would employ the 802.11 protocol to connect the

system to a network. The IC chip used will ideally have a built-in RF transceiver.

Whenever the user has internet connectivity, they will be able to manipulate the

system. For inter system wireless data communication, there must be a distance

of less than 100 feet between the two wireless chips for an accurate and

dependable signal.

This chip on the circuit board inside the HVAC control system will utilize the

Zigbee form of wireless communication with the 802.15 protocol. While searching

the internet we are going to be using a smart phone so that users can control and

view the air conditioner conditions online when they are away from the building.

The smart phone features various applications that include programming

schedules and a clock that incorporates the current day, month, and year. It will

also inform the user of the current interior and exterior conditions, current states

of the HVAC components, and the correct time in hours, minutes, and seconds.

1.2 Motivation

In our Senior Design class, we formed a group of four Engineering students:

Derick Holzmacher (EE), Andrew Mertens (EE), Cory Glass (EE), and Joshua

New (CpE). We came to a preliminary decision to pursue the Senior Design

project named iTemp. We explained the project proposal to Dr. Samuel Richie

and received approval along with a sponsor who had similar interests and goals

relating to iTemp.

Being a Florida resident, air conditioning is a necessity for the majority of the

year. HVAC systems are one of the leading energy consuming appliances in use

in any residential or commercial setting. Over the years HVAC systems have

become more efficient, but with the recent push toward green technology and

overall energy efficiency, demand for a new HVAC system has presented itself.

The design of the system will incorporate components to make an intelligent

decision to satisfy the requirements set by the user in the most efficient way

possible.

Figure 1 shown below shows a pie chart of typical energy use in a residential

setting obtained from the National Academy of Sciences website. According to

the graph, space heating and cooling accounts for 43% of the home‟s total

energy consumption. A significant improvement in efficiency for heating and

cooling systems would be able to lower monthly energy costs by a sizeable

margin.