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Green environment design

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ericyeoh

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Dear ALL,

I had just received my title for group design project.

So for this year i'm are suppose to do a project called GREEN CAMPUS. it is all about going green saving the environment by reducing the water and air polution.

Besides that, to have power saving and auto shut off for power supply if not in use as well as reduce the water consumtion.

Please kindly share with me if u have any suggestions for the project ?
link and circuit included is preferable.

TQ
 
Yes its called a wall switch, that we once use to have before remote controls.

As for water consumption i have long belived if we had foot operated taps in conjunction with normal hand operated taps we would save a hell of a lot of water.
The amount of time people spend with a tap running while doing little, like brushing teeth and rinsing dishes etc. with more water down the plug hole than being used for the job.

Pete.
 
An old boss of mine was working on a system that I always wanted to be involved with. I considered doing this for my fy project when I was in college. Basically, he had a motorized vent which he installed to allow air in the building when the outside temperature was "correct." He needed a controller which would measure inside and outside temperature, and operate the A/C and motorized vent, so that when outside temp was correct, it would automatically switch off the A/C system, and open the vents. I still think about making that.
 
I think the foot-pedal operated tap is a winner.

A simple water solenoid connected to a momentary foot switch.

That way, if you step away from sink, the water shuts off.

Another good thing for water savings is the water "pre-heater".. NOT a electronic or gas water heater, but a pump and thermometer.

You press a button on the side of the cabinet or sink that turns on a small pump. The pump is connected to the hot and cold water lines.

The thermometer is in or on the hot water line near the faucet.

Press the button, pump PUMPS the cold water that is in the hot water line INTO the cold water line until the thermostat detects hot water present in the hot water line.

This keeps hundreds of gallons of water from going down the drain each year, while waiting for your water to "heat up"

These two ideas combined would save much water.

You could also incorporate them into the same device, so only one install would be required.
 
A few years back we went with PIR sensors for all of our office space and other spaces lighting. If I exit my office the lights turn off after I think 10 min. When I enter they automatically turn on. We also went with new high efficiency flourescent tubes. The cost savings were about 50% and the system has just about paid for itself.

On another note, our HVAC does exactly what BrownOut mentions. Monitor Outside & Inside air temperature and meters the outsirde air in accordingly. That works real well and an added nice feature is the fresh air! :)

Ron
 
Another water waste is the ball cock flushing mechanism on toilet urinals.

PIR sensing would help reduce the flush waste.

Many of the UK's public toilet services have spring press taps, press for a quick rinse then auto off.
 
A few years back we went with PIR sensors for all of our office space and other spaces lighting. If I exit my office the lights turn off after I think 10 min. When I enter they automatically turn on. We also went with new high efficiency flourescent tubes. The cost savings were about 50% and the system has just about paid for itself.

On another note, our HVAC does exactly what BrownOut mentions. Monitor Outside & Inside air temperature and meters the outsirde air in accordingly. That works real well and an added nice feature is the fresh air! :)

Ron

That "feature" is often called an "economizer".

All you need is a actuator controlled damper. most digital thermostats have the option to control them.

Making your own is pretty easy too.

A uC with a thermometer and a relay or h-bridge to control the actuator. (Or a logic controlled actuator)

You tell the uC the "requested" temperature in the room/building

If the outdoor temperature is <= (less than or equal to) the requested temperature, it opens the damper.

The damper/actuator is located on the air handler and a duct from the damper to the outdoors is added. A screen and air filter are usually added. The duct size is dependent on the system size, but even an undersized economizer duct will save money/energy and slow the cycle on time of the A/C.

This is a great thing for server rooms, or any place where machinery raises the rooms temperature above a "happy" point, even during winter.

In winter, it seemingly makes no sense to use the A/C, because it is so cold outside.

The reason behind it is, the A/C removes moisture, so in cases where humidity needs to be controlled, adding a de-humidifier to the economizer is a good idea.

That or you can make sure the economizer duct intake is before the A/C coil in the air handler. That way the coil will help remove excess moisture.
 
The "waiting for hot water" pump (post #4) has been invented. I saw it on "This Old House". Point is, the hardware is available...somewhere. It's waiting for you to find it and give it new life in your town
 
Making your own is pretty easy too.

That's why I think it would be a great FY project.

If the outdoor temperature is <= (less than or equal to) the requested temperature, it opens the damper.

I would make mine with the option of running the A/C until the indoor temp is equal to the target, and then open the damper, if the outside temp is cool enough.
 
The "waiting for hot water" pump (post #4) has been invented. I saw it on "This Old House". Point is, the hardware is available...somewhere. It's waiting for you to find it and give it new life in your town

That is where I saw it. I wasn't saying to invent it, I was just saying to use it.

AND by incorporating that design with the "foot switch" idea, you would have an improved product.
 
I used to threaten my girlfriend to replace the water tap with an old-fashoned pump ( just like grandpa had ) That way, she wouldn't be able to just let the water run and run and run and...
 
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Ya the taps in the rest stops along the highway here only stay on for a second so you have to keep hitting them to get enough water to wash your hands. how about somthing to attack the power vampires? Andy
 
Guys, thx for all your recommendations. I'm thinking to apply PIR system into this project in the categories of water consumtion and electricity saving like what Reloadran mentioned. Good suggestion TQ.

Anyway, do you guys hv any ideas about solar tech or using wind as a power generator?
 
I have had a lot to do with wind energy, and as great as it is, and as much as i enjoy it, there is many drawbacks with its use and suitable applications on smaller scale.

Solar is a much more reliable and calculable energy source.

Thermal heating is well covered but could be much better exploited in cold countries.

An add on solar collector for electric hot water systems to preheat the water in the storage tank would be of good use, and could work under thermosyphon.

A friend complained about his kids turning the tv on and then leaving the room and forgetting to turn it off, so i designed a simple circuit that every 10-15 minutes it beeped and flashed a led, and after a further minute if none of the buttons the remote control was not pressed it turned the power to the tv off.
If a remote button was pressed within the 10-15 minute period it reset the period back to zero.

This was developed further into a IR sensor that was programmable to the ON button on the remote that started the timing period.
At the time out period it fired a IR led with the OFF code for the tv.

Both IR codes was Read into memory by using the remote with the unit in learning mode.

This solved the problem of the earlier model being triggered by any IR remote and the need for a mains relay to control the power to the tv, But it did remove the tv from standby power, although the control itself still needed standby power.

Pete.
 
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