Integrating Energy Efficiency and Occupancy Control in Shared Public Buildings: A Data-Driven Approach

Environmental parameter monitoring systems connected in classic Internet of Things (IoT) networks have been evolving in the recent years and are now capable of providing massive amounts of data, that are often accessible to both facility managers and authorized users through smartphone apps. This paper presents an example of such monitoring systems that has been designed to control the environmental data within the many buildings that compose the University of Pisa, with the goal of improving their energy management. In fact, it is known that smart management of the energy system is the best strategy to avoid energy wastes. The topic has become particularly relevant following the COVID-19 pandemic, after mechanical ventilation has been imposed by law in many states. This leads to rather significant increases in energy use, both in the winter and summer seasons. We describe CO2 monitoring sensors that have been developed at the University of Pisa, based on low-cost components and a secure IoT network, showing their promising potential for energy efficiency applications, also highlighting some shortcomings of currently available technology.