Canadian PI: Dr. Kuljeet Kaur
Canadian Institution: École de Technologie Supérieure, Montreal
Indian PI: Dr. Mukesh Singh
Indian Institution: Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology (TIET), Patiala
Project Summary:
One of the major challenges of improving global sustainability is the management of climate change and the reduction of Green House Gas (GHG) emissions. The construction sector has become one of the most significant sectors that cause massive GHGs emissions. The goal of the World Green Building Council is to reduce the construction sector’s CO2 emissions by 84 gigatons and achieve net zero emissions building by 2050. Major Indian and Canadian companies (TCS, Honeywell Automation, Solares Architecture, Suncor, etc) have already committed to going carbon-free. They have developed new standards to achieve Carbon Neutral Buildings (CNBs) including zero carbon balance, efficiency, renewable energy, and using low carbon material.
Existing solutions include different home automation, carbon neutrality, and IoT-enabled approaches; being promoted commercially. However, these alternatives focus on integrating these systems into new buildings and are aimed at the affluent urban professional. This proposal is different because it is aimed at the sectors of Indian and Canadian society that may be a less popular commercial target. It is designed specifically for off-grid renewable energy sources (RES) and for users with limited financial resources to invest in new appliances. It is a novel solution informed by cutting-edge research in electrical engineering and computer science. The potential to optimize device usage automatically through self-evolving algorithms and to develop a viable demand-response model will be game-changing; resulting in the increased reliability of RESs that currently generate electricity in a non-uniform and unreliable fashion.
The project has the potential to develop a standardized system framework that will facilitate the adoption of smart technologies (sensors; IoT) in existing domestic situations; which are user-friendly, cost-effective and capable of being controlled using smartphones. The modular design will allow people to choose from simple power measurement and warning systems to completely intelligent IoT-driven full automation. Depending on the investment capability, people can move progressively from the simplest to the most complex systems incrementally. Specifically designed to be used in areas where power is generated from the off-grid, using RESs; the project has the potential to be scalable and replicable globally. Commercial delivery options will be one of the main aims of the proposal.
