New Thermostat, New Temperature Node and New Meter (CEC)*

To meet the objectives of the California Energy Commission (CEC) to create inexpensive and "smart" thermostats and electricity meters that could be installed in all residences in California to help conserve energy via demand-response "real-time" electricity pricing, we will combine CITRIS efforts in BSAC (Picoradio), BSAC(Smart Dust) and TinyOS (NEST) to meet the following goals:
>> Cost targets of $30 for the thermostat, $10 for the temperature node, and $50 for the electricity meter
>> High quality communications with a range of 10-300 meters for the thermostat and create a flexible, unstrandable environment for the meter
>> Capability of acting on a dynamic tariff or Demand-Response information automatically based on user preferences
>> Creative design and packaging for ease of installation and use of both the thermostat and the meter
>> Ability to scavenge energy from various ambient sources and integration with power supplies to the devices, so that replacing batteries is unnecessary
>> Support for other sensors such as occupancy sensors for the thermostat
>> Revenue-quality power measurement for the meter
*This project is not officially supported through CITRIS funds, but the faculty and topical affiliations are sufficiently strong that it is listed here for referral and convenience.