Development of Solar Heating Using Information and Communication Technologies for Northern Houses

The purpose of this study is to construct an integrated system that uses information and communication technologies (ICT) and solar energy more effectively to reduce energy consumption in houses at higher northern latitudes, i.e., in colder climates [1,2]. The core technology of this system is an active indoor environment control system that regulates temperature and illuminance only in the vicinity of the occupants. A goal of this technology is to decrease unnecessary energy consumption caused by controlling the average temperature and illuminance of an entire room. With this technology, a room is divided into multiple zones. Two radiators are installed on opposite-facing walls in two adjacent zones, and one distributed power-saving light is installed in each zone. Two sensors that detect the presence of occupants are installed at the ceiling corners to monitor the room. The occupant positions and the illuminance in sunlit locations are detected by these sensors. In this study, measurements of solar energy were taken in the northern part of Japan, and it was confirmed that there exists an adequate amount of solar energy in winter. Several essential technologies were developed to regulate temperature and illuminance only in the vicinity of the occupants, and the effectiveness of these technologies was partially confirmed using a subset of the final system.The integrated system will be installed in an experimental house this winter.