Wireless Temperature, Relative Humidity and Occupancy Monitoring System for Investigating Overheating in Buildings

Abstract

With the climate change we are experiencing today, the number and intensity of heatwaves are increasing dramatically, significantly impacting our buildings’ overheating. The majority of the prefabricated concrete panel buildings in Hungary are considered outdated from an energy point of view. These buildings may be at greater risk from extreme weather events. To examine this, long-term monitoring measurements are needed. Therefore, we developed a unique, reliable, and cost-effective wireless monitoring system, which can track in real time the indoor air quality data (temperature, relative humidity, CO2) of the investigated apartment building, as well as users’ habits, such as resident presence, window opening, and blind movement. The data were used to analyse and quantify the summer overheating of the dwelling and user habits. The measurements showed that the average temperature in all rooms was above 26 °C, and there were several occasions when the temperature exceeded 30 °C. Overheating in apartment buildings in summer is a significant problem that needs to be addressed. Further investigation of ventilation habits will help develop favourable ventilation strategies, and using these measurements in dynamic simulations will also help improve the models’ validity for further studies.