PROMET&O PROactive Monitoring system for indoor EnvironmenTal quality & cOmfort

In the last decades, the importance of indoor environmental quality and perceived comfort in the built environment has been raised both in the scientific research field and in everyday life practice. Particularly, it has been proved that enhancing quality and comfort in the built environment allows for the improvement of, among other aspects, health, productivity and well-being. Furthermore, supporting optimal environmental conditions also allows for the implementation of building automation and control systems (BACS) and strategies for the reduction of energy consumptions. To account for the needs related to several occupants and to the built environment itself, it is fundamental to study Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) and Indoor Environmental Comfort (IEC) considering all the physical domains of the built environment, i.e., acoustic, thermal, visual and of air quality. IEQ is typically assessed by means of measurement campaigns using separate sensors throughout various periods. So far, only a small number of accurate multi-sensors that measure more than two or three physical quantities at the same time are available on the market. With respect to IEC, it is typically assessed by means of questionnaires but the available scientific literature only provides few results that consider the subjective perception of occupants and the IEQ monitoring at the same time. In this thesis, an innovative methodology for IEQ and IEC assessment in office environments is explored. A new device for IEQ and IEC monitoring, which is called PROMET&O, has been designed by the Polytechnic of Turin in cooperation between the Department of Energy, the Department of Electronics and Telecommunication and the Department of Control and Computer Engineering. PROMET&O is a multi-sensor that aims at collecting objective data through the continuous monitoring of thermal, acoustic, lighting and air quality parameters, and at the same time is coupled with a touchscreen device devoted to acquire the subjective feedback of the occupants through an ad-hoc designed questionnaire. To support the identification of the design issues and the first steps of its development, two literature reviews were carried out aiming at (I) listing the premises related to the questionnaire’s design in order to make it accurate, effective and engageable, and (II) deepening the measurement aspects related to the acquisition of indoor air quality quantities. Then, a practical phase of the thesis consisted in the design of the external case of the PROMET&O device in order to make it functional also in agreement with the electronic architecture issues defined. In this framework, the graphical rendering to be implemented in the dashboard for IEQ and IEC acquisition and reporting has been determined. To validate the proposed methodology related to IEQ and IEC, a pilot experimental study was carried out. A simplified version of the PROMET&O device, which only embeds an acoustic sensor but that is equipped with LED lights for visual feedback, was used for continuous monitoring in an office setting. Together with the sensor, the questionnaire for overall IEC assessment was administered.