Home Heating system project

[dannysampson]

Im currently carrying out a design project for my engineering foundation degree. For this project i have come up with an idea about installing a heating system into home which would give everyroom its own individual thermostat and valves, so you can set and monitor each rooms temperature. I would then like to create an application for iphone/andriod/ipad that would be able to control this system.
From this application you would be able to control the set point of each room and close rooms off individually from your iphone/andriod phone/ipad.

I would like some feedback on whether this would be a good idea and if people would actually use this sort of application on a day to day basis. Or any ideas to inprove this would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Danny

 

[Skull One]

They already do this in the commercial and industrial HVA/C community. So yes, there are several solutions already out on the market. Your idea for the home market has been around for years (read up on the X10) but it has only caught on with the wealthy or the very high tech do-it-yourself crowds.

Making it for the average person is going to be rather hard since the majority of homes are already built and have dedicated HVA/C system installed. So you either have to target new homes before they are built or find a way to change out the existing system cost effectively. I doubt you will be able to do that second part because of the wiring needed or the remote radio controlled equipment that would be required if wiring isn't possible.

BTW, I have spent the last 20 years in the HVA/C industry writing software for it. So I have a really good background in the subject matter.

 

[Bula]

Surely retrofitting an old house would be costly...?

I would rather spend the money on Security/surveillance.... there are lots of products available to link cheap IP cameras to smartphones...but I never find good products that tick all my requirements at an affordable price..

 

[Rainbow1616]

Haha that was the whole point of my other thread about putting my phone on the network. We use many hvac systems controlled by apps or rdp. Most if not all the companies have those options, Johnson controls, Siemens insight, American auto matrix, delta, automated logic just to name a few. Not really cost effective for a home environment though.