Andrew Battles

Seunggue Koo
Edward Vettel
Proposal
Automated Room Environment Control
I.

Introduction
The electric light is one of the most important and useful inventions of the modern
age. The invention of dimmers greatly expanded their capabilities, but one
always has to adjust them manually to get the right amount of light in their room.
On a cloudy day, or during a sunrise or sunset, a room ends up being over-lit or
under-lit unless someone is constantly adjusting the lights. We propose a system
of sensors and controls that detect the amount of light in different areas of a room,
and adjust the dimmers to give the proper amount of user-settable illumination to
throughout the entire room. To expand on this idea and encompass more areas of
comfort, this system also detects the temperature all over the room and heats or
air conditions it while circulating the air to maximize consistency and comfort.
Objectives:
Keep a consistent amount of light throughout a large room with several
lights, no matter the outside illumination coming in.
Keep a consistent temperature throughout the room, so that there are no
pockets or warm or cold air in different areas.
Allow users to create present environment settings so that they can select
their preferred illumination and temperature.
Features:
Multiple sensor arrays in different areas of the room, allowing for
detection of different light and temperature levels for different locations.
Multiple dimmers attached to different lights to control them independent
of areas lit by other lights.
A simple user interface and control, so that users may dim the lights to
select the proper illumination and temperature, and set this value to a
preset.
Benefits:
Save electricity by only using the minimum amount of light needed.
Eliminate hot spots within a room near heat producing devices or large
groups of people.
Keep a room lit properly during periods of variable light, such as sunsets,
sunrises, and cloudy days.
Keep areas of the room that are far from windows as well lit as areas
receiving plenty of natural light.

II.

One-touch preset selection for convenience

Design
User Interface Computer

Microcontroller

Temperature
Sensors

A/C
Heater
Fan

Light
Sensors

Light Dimmer
circuit
Lights

Model Room

User Interface Computer:

A cheap computer, needs only to be able to run the HCS12 user interface
and development suite and communicate with the HCS12 over an RS232
serial cable. It will have a convenient, user friendly front panel (built in
the HCS12 suite or Labview) that the user communicates with, with
buttons to set the presets and temperature, and knobs/sliders to adjust the
light.
Microcontroller:
HCS12. Will be the go-between from the light sensors to the dimmers,
from the temperature sensors and the on/offs of the A/C, heater, and fan,
and from all of these to the computer. It will also handle the operations to
maintain the specific light and temperature levels without needing to talk
to the user interface computer.
Temperature Sensors:
Sensors detect the current room temperature actively and send output of
the data to the microcontroller. We will be using the XSPC LCD
Temperature sensor to detect temperature. This sensor fits our sensitivity
requirements and is inexpensive.

Light Sensors
Sensors detect the current room illumination and send output of the data to
the microcontroller. We will be using the Avago ADJD-S371-Q999 as a
light sensor. This sensor both fits our sensitivity requirements, and is
inexpensive.

Light Dimmer circuit

Light dimmer circuit controls brightness of the light. It is connected
between the light and microcontroller. And it decides how much power is
going to be supplied to the light bulbs from the microcontroller.

Lights
Basically, we are going to use 3 commercial light bulbs for the simulator
to represent actual light condition. The brightness of the light is controlled
by light dimmer circuit.

III.

A/C, Heater, Fan

The microcontroller controls the all temperature units such as A/C, Heater,
Fan. A cheap commercial A/C unit, heat lamp, computer fan will be
needed for these temperature system.

Performance Requirements/Tolerance Analysis:

Dimmer Circuit:
The Dimmer Circuit needs to dim the three light bulbs independently, base on the user
settings and the amount of light picked up by the sensors. When a light bulb is dimmed
or illuminated, it will reach the new setting in 5 seconds. This includes both a user
commanded illumination, or if an outside light triggers a sensor. The bulb should react in
5 seconds.
This function is very important. If a user is trying to dim the lights for a presentation, or
just figure out when setting he/she prefers, the response time should be around 5 seconds.
Reasonably, it would still be convenient for up to 8 seconds for a response time.
Therefore we could reasonably allow up to 8 seconds for a complete response and be
satisfied.
Temperature Control:
The temperature of the room is the other important feature. We will need a fairly strict
temperature requirement. The temperature should be no less than one degree above or
below the user-set temperature. Also, when a user sets a new temperature, the
temperature should change no slower than one degree a minute.

Temperature greatly affects a users comfort level. In our room, if a temperature is set, it
should remain at the set temperature. However, due to our air conditioning system
cycling on and off, it would still be acceptable if the temperature fluctuated up to 2
degrees higher or lower than the specified temperature. Anything else is unacceptable.
The same goes for the rate of temperature change. It realistically is still acceptable if the
temperature changes at 1 degree every two minutes, but anything further is too slow.
Interface:
The user interface should be friendly enough so that anyone can use it. There need to be
clear options involving light and temperature control. All of this should be done on a
simple computer. It also must be able to fully update the microcontroller in 0.1 seconds
or less after a user has changed something.
IV.

Testing:

LabVIEW Testing:
We will use LabVIEW to test our dimmer circuit. Basically we will be able to
simulate our circuit by feeding in values, and observing the power driven to the light
bulbs.
Test Mode:
We will create in our interface a test mode. This will run through different parts
of the system and test them to ensure they are functioning correctly.
This test system will first cycle through the different power levels for the light
bulb, scanning from off up to brightest, and back to off. This is a test to ensure the
dimmers are working correctly. It will require observation to ensure this test works.
After the cycle, it will set from off to brightest. As per the performance requirements, it
will take no longer than 5 seconds to reach this level. Again this is a test that will require
user observation to ensure. In the early stages, we will send the output of the dimmer
circuit to test and interpret in LabVIEW.
After the lights have been tested, the mode will then turn on the heat and verify it
is functioning until the average temperature raises 3 degrees. After ensuring this, the air
conditioning will be turned on until the average temperature lowers 10 degrees. The user
will be able to observe whether or not the a/c and heat have been turned on at the
appropriate time.
Physical Test:
After a passing through the test mode, physical tests can be performed to ensure
functionality. We will use a flashlight to simulate outside light entering the room. The
room lighting will adjust accordingly. We will also use a hairdryer to simulate heat, and

dry ice to simulate a/c to trigger the temperature sensors to turn on the respective heat
lamp or a/c unit.

V.

Cost Analysis

Labor:
Worker

Hours X 2.5 X Hourly Wage

Total Cost

Andrew Battles

120 hrs X 2.5 X $35/hr

$10,500

Seunggue Koo

120 hrs X 2.5 X $35/hr

$10,500

Edward Vettel

120 hrs X 2.5 X $35/hr

$10,500
Total Labor: $31,500.00

Parts:
Equipment

Quantity x Cost

HCS12 microcontroller
Computer
Temperature sensor
Light sensor
Light bulb
A/C unit
Heat lamp
Computer fan

1x$8
1x$700
3x$7.95
10x$8.96
3x$1
1x$400
1x$20
1x$5

Total Cost
$8
$700
$15
$89.60
$3
$400
$20
$5
Total parts: $1,166.00

Grand Total: Total Labor + Total Parts = $32,666.00

VI.
week
9/15
9/22

9/29

10/6

10/13

10/20

10/27

11/3
11/10
11/17

Schedule:
Andrew Battles
- Finish proposal
- Study HSC12

Seunggue Koo
- Finish proposal
- Study HSC12
- Acquire Parts
-Design Review
-Design Review
- Study HSC12
- Study HSC12
-Design Dimmer
Circuit
-Begin setting up
-Hook up lighting
communication
and Dimmer Circuit
between computer
-Add
and microcontroller microcontrollers
-Complete
-Complete
microcontroller
microcontroller
communication
communication
interface to main
interface between
control
microcontroller and
sensors/lighting
-Complete user
-Complete user
interface for lighting interface for lighting
-Debug
- Find optimum
communication
placement of
between
sensors
components
- Build model room - Build model room
- Create Physical
- Install lighting and
connections to user
sensors
interface
- Create Physical
-Test lighting
connections to user
control
interface
- Add HVAC
- Add HVAC system
system to user
to all components
interface and
microcontroller
- Mock-up demo
- Mock-up demo
-Debug HVAC
-Finish HVAC
control
system
-Create test program -Adjust sensors
-Debug
-Debug
-Finish test Program -Complete anything
-Write final report
left

Edward Vettel
- Finish proposal
- Study HSC12
- Acquire Parts
-Design Review
- Study HSC12
-Design Dimmer
Circuit
-Hook up lighting
and Dimmer Circuit
-Add
microcontrollers
-Complete
microcontroller
communication
interface between
microcontroller and
sensors/lighting
-Complete user
interface for lighting
- Find optimum
placement of
sensors
- Build model room
- Install lighting and
sensors
- Create Physical
connections to user
interface
- Add HVAC system
to all components
- Mock-up demo
-Finish HVAC
system
-Adjust sensors
-Debug
-Complete anything
left

12/1

Presentation

-Write final report

Presentation

-Write final report

Presentation