Building Targets Heats Directly At People To Save Energy

When it comes to winter, one major issue that all building managers (commercial as well as at home, and that would normally mean the parents/adults who live at home where the latter is concerned) have to grapple with would be the issue of heating. Optimizing the heating in a building can be quite a tricky affair, especially when it comes to large spaces including lobbies of huge buildings. This is not the most efficient method of getting things done, but the folks over at the MIT have come up with a possible solution through the introduction of motion-detecting spotlights which will be able to target the individual people in the room, hence saving money as well as energy.

This particular new heating system hails from MIT’s Senseable City Lab, where it has in the past, delivered other devices such as high-tech bus stops, GPS robot heads, and flying 3D displays. Known as Local Warming, this system comprises of a series of panels that has large infrared heat lamps which have been embedded in the ceiling. Using Wi-Fi connectivity, the lamps will rely on a motion detecting system to tell whether there is a person (or more) in the room, and upon positive identification, the lamps will turn on.

With an interesting concoction of mirrors and motors, these will work in tandem to aim themselves at a particular person, hence being able to heat them up directly. As for the rest of the room, it will remain as is. The prototype is still too bulky for common implementation everywhere, but time ought to allow the MIT research team to develop smaller LEDs in existing building ceilings that ought to help simplify installation.

Edwin Kee
Categories: Home
Tags: mit, Science