KR20110097001A - Monitoring system for indoor air quality and method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

An indoor air quality monitoring system and method thereof are disclosed. Indoor air quality monitoring system according to an aspect of the present invention includes an indoor sensor unit for sensing the indoor air pollution degree; An outdoor sensor unit for sensing an outdoor air pollution degree; A central processing unit for measuring indoor air quality based on sensing information by the indoor sensor unit; And a display unit for displaying indoor air quality, wherein the central processing unit outputs an optimal ventilation condition by referring to the outdoor air quality by the outdoor sensor unit when the indoor air quality is determined to be in a pollution state compared to a preset reference value. According to the present invention, the indoor air quality can be monitored and notified to the user, and an optimal ventilation method for improving the air quality can be automatically presented.

Description

Monitoring system for indoor air quality and method

The present invention relates to indoor air quality monitoring, and more particularly, to a method and a monitoring system for monitoring indoor air quality and indoor air quality management according to the condition.

Recently, modern people live most of the time in indoor spaces such as houses, offices, and underground spaces.For modern people who spend most of their time indoors, a comfortable indoor environment can increase work efficiency and furthermore, Play a very important role in maintaining In particular, as the living standards of human beings are improved, the demand for more comfortable indoor environments by individuals is increasing. In general, indoor air in the sealed room increases the carbon dioxide (CO2) content over time due to the breathing of the indoor room, and also because the heat load in the office rapidly increases due to densification due to office automation and land price increases. Will cause discomfort. In addition, indoor air pollution by formaldehyde, which is caused by building materials or household goods, has become a serious level recently.

Pollution of indoor air refers to the contamination of air in various indoor spaces such as houses, schools, offices, public buildings, hospitals, underground facilities, and means of transportation, and its impact is certainly not enough to threaten the lives of indoor residents. It is adversely affecting your health.

However, most people are unaware that the human body effect of indoor pollution is more serious than outdoor air pollution, and they do not know the nature and concentration of indoor pollutants.

The reason why indoor air pollution is more serious than air pollution is that air pollution has a high natural dilution rate and can be naturally purified with climate change. Recently, it is suppressed due to social awareness and various regulations on air pollution. In addition, indoor air is not only exposed to various pollutants unprotected by contaminated air continuously circulating through artificial facilities in a limited space or living in a closed area without such facilities at all. The concentration of is accumulated over time and is gradually increasing.

In addition, new building materials created by various industrial technologies for energy conservation are used in general houses as well as public buildings. These new building materials release unexpected pollutants, and unexpected contaminants are also generated in various household products. Is being released. Moreover, as the building's encapsulation progresses to increase energy savings, more and more residents of the building complain of temporary or chronic health-related symptoms.

In addition, in recent years, not only the seriousness of air pollution in buildings, but also measures of pollution of indoor air in vehicles, planes, ships, and trains, in which people stay indoors for a long time, are urgent.

In the indoor environment detection apparatus according to the prior art, when the detection value detected by the sensor exceeds the threshold value of each item, an alarm is not automatically generated to indicate that a danger may occur. Only when the risk was recognized could the action be taken. In addition, since the detection yield is one or a few, the indoor air quality measurement itself is fragmentary, which makes it difficult to measure more precise and detailed indoor air quality.

In addition, there may be some risk in operating a ventilation system by simply measuring indoor air quality. For example, assuming that the indoor air quality worsens to open a window, it may be more difficult to clean the indoor air quality if the external air quality is more contaminated.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, it is to provide an indoor air quality monitoring system and method that can notify the user by monitoring the indoor air quality and present the optimal ventilation conditions for air purification.

In another aspect, the present invention is to provide an indoor air quality monitoring system and method that proposes the optimal ventilation conditions to measure not only indoor air quality but also outdoor air quality to maintain a more comfortable indoor air quality.

Other objects of the present invention will become more apparent through the preferred embodiments described below.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the indoor sensor unit for sensing the indoor air pollution degree; An outdoor sensor unit for sensing an outdoor air pollution degree; A central processing unit which measures indoor air quality based on the sensing information by the indoor sensor unit; And a display unit for displaying the indoor air quality, wherein when the indoor air quality is determined to be in a contaminated state compared to a preset reference value, the central processing unit refers to the outdoor air quality by the outdoor sensor unit to determine an optimal ventilation condition. An indoor air quality monitoring system is provided.

Here, the central processing unit controls the connected ventilation device to perform a ventilation function when the outdoor air quality is lower than the indoor air quality, and when the outdoor air quality is higher than the indoor air quality, the connected air conditioner is an air conditioning function. It can be controlled to perform.

In addition, the indoor sensor unit and the outdoor sensor unit measures the temperature or humidity of the indoor and outdoor, respectively, and the central processing unit to minimize the change in the indoor temperature or humidity based on the measured indoor temperature or humidity and outdoor temperature or humidity The optimal ventilation condition can be output.

The central processor may control the display unit to display the measured indoor air quality and the reference air quality together.

If the pollution state of the indoor air quality is determined to be a dangerous level, the central processing unit may transmit the information on the indoor air quality to the central control device connected through a communication network.

According to another aspect of the present invention, an indoor air quality (IAQ) monitoring method, comprising: determining a pollution state of indoor air by comparing the sensed indoor air quality with a preset reference value; Recognizing an optimal ventilation condition with reference to the sensed outdoor air quality according to the indoor air pollution determination result; And controlling the connected ventilation device to perform a ventilation function or controlling the air conditioning device to perform an air conditioning function according to the optimum ventilation condition, and a recording medium having recorded therein a program for executing the method. do.

According to the present invention, an indoor air quality monitoring system and method for informing a user of a monitored indoor air quality (IAQ) state and automatically suggesting an optimal ventilation condition for improving air quality can be provided.

In addition, according to the present invention to measure the indoor air quality as well as the outdoor air quality together to provide a ventilation method suitable for the outdoor air quality condition to maintain a more comfortable indoor air quality.

1 is a block diagram showing an indoor air quality monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration of a central processing unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3A and 3B are tables illustrating reference values and optimal ventilation conditions in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a flowchart illustrating a process for monitoring indoor air quality according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is an exemplary view showing a screen displaying the optimal ventilation conditions according to the indoor air quality according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As the inventive concept allows for various changes and numerous embodiments, particular embodiments will be illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the written description. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to specific embodiments, it should be understood to include all modifications, equivalents, and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, and in describing the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings, the same or corresponding elements are denoted by the same reference numerals regardless of the reference numerals, and duplicates thereof. The description will be omitted.

In addition, hereinafter, a case where the indoor air quality monitoring system is implemented in a building such as a general home, will be described as an example, but is not limited thereto. Naturally, it can be applied anywhere, and will be more apparent to those skilled in the art through the following description.

1 is a block diagram showing an indoor air quality monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration of a central processing unit according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figures 3a and 3b Tables exemplifying reference values and optimum ventilation conditions according to an embodiment of the present invention.

First, referring to FIG. 1, the entire system according to the present embodiment includes an indoor sensor unit (10-1, 10-2,..., 10-n, hereinafter referred to as 10), and an outdoor sensor unit (20-1, 20). -2, ..., 20-m (hereinafter referred to as 20), the indoor air quality (IAQ) monitoring system 100 and the external device (110-1, 110) including the central processing unit 30 and the display unit 40 -2, 110-3, ... 110-k, hereinafter referred to as 110).

The indoor sensor unit 10 of the indoor air quality monitoring system 100 is installed indoors, and the outdoor sensor unit 20 is installed outdoors, respectively, as well as indoor and outdoor temperature and humidity, as well as total volatile organic carbon (TVOC). ), Total suspended particulates (TSP) such as fine dust, formaldehyde (HCHO), carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), etc. It functions to sense contaminants and their concentrations.

In general, temperature and humidity temperature and humidity sensor is used, carbon monoxide is CO sensor, carbon dioxide is CO2 sensor, suspended dust dust or particle sensor, TVOC is TVOC sensor, formaldehyde is HCHO sensor, ozone is O3 sensor Is used. Each sensor will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and thus a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The central processing unit 30 measures indoor or outdoor air quality by using the information sensed by the indoor sensor unit 10 and the outdoor sensor unit 20, and processes the result to be output through the display unit 40. . In other words, the indoor air temperature, humidity, the concentration of pollutants such as formaldehyde, carbon dioxide, etc. are displayed for the user to check. Here, the central processing unit 30 may display not only the measured indoor air quality but also information on an appropriate air quality state that is not determined to be a pollution state. For convenience of understanding, for example, the measured current temperature, the appropriate carbon dioxide concentration at the temperature and the measured current carbon dioxide concentration may be displayed together.

In addition, the central processing unit 30 determines whether the indoor air quality is in a polluted state in comparison with a reference value (see FIG. 3A) according to a suitable air quality stored in advance, and as a result, the outdoor sensor unit 20 is determined. With reference to the outdoor air quality according to the), an optimum ventilation condition (hereinafter, referred to as an optimal ventilation condition) is output. If it is determined that the indoor air quality is in a state requiring ventilation or purification (hereinafter referred to as a contamination state), the display unit 40 calculates an optimal ventilation condition for converting the indoor air quality to a good state according to the outdoor air quality. Or a speaker (not shown) to inform the user. For example, it is determined whether a window should be opened, a fan should be operated, or an air conditioner such as an air conditioner should be operated and notified to the user.

In addition, the central processing unit 30 may be connected to a ventilation device such as a ventilator and a window release piston release, and an air conditioning device such as an air cleaner and an air conditioner to control its operation. For example, when the concentration of pollutants such as formaldehyde in the indoor air is high, the window may be opened, or the air cleaner may be controlled to be driven.

For example, the central processing unit 30 controls the connected ventilator to perform the ventilation function when the outdoor air quality is lower than the indoor air quality, and when the outdoor air quality is higher than the indoor air quality, the connected air conditioner may operate the air conditioning function. Can be controlled to perform. That is, not only the air quality of the indoor air is judged to ventilate, but it is determined whether to purify the air using the outdoor air according to the outdoor air quality. If the pollution of the outdoor air is a more serious condition, the window should not be opened to allow the outdoor air to be sucked into the room. Therefore, outdoor air can be used more efficiently for purification of indoor air.

In addition, the central processing unit 30 controls the driving of the ventilation device or the air conditioning device to minimize the change in the indoor temperature and humidity based on the measured indoor and outdoor temperature and / or humidity. For example, the window is opened in a state where the temperature inside is maintained at an appropriate level in the cold winter, so that the indoor temperature drops a lot so that the user does not feel cold. Likewise, in the summer, the air conditioner prevents heat from entering the outside while the room is maintained at an appropriate temperature and / or humidity. That is, when there is a large difference in temperature and humidity between indoor and outdoor, the central processing unit 30 controls an external device 110 such as a ventilation device and / or an air conditioning device so that air from the outside does not enter for a long time.

As described above, the central processing unit 30 may select the optimal ventilation condition of the indoor air quality differently according to the state of the outdoor air quality, which will be briefly described with reference to FIG. 3B.

3 shows a reference value according to the appropriate air quality, and FIG. 3B shows an example of an optimal ventilation condition according to the conditions of the indoor air quality and the outdoor air quality.

As shown in the figure, the optimum ventilation conditions may vary depending on whether each material included in the indoor air quality exceeds a reference value and whether the value is higher compared to the state of the outdoor air quality. For convenience of understanding, only carbon dioxide and formaldehyde are taken as examples, and all of the optimum ventilation conditions according to other pollutants such as carbon monoxide and fine dust can be set. As described above, indoor temperature / humidity and outdoor temperature / humidity can be set. Naturally, the optimal ventilation conditions may be set in consideration of other requirements.

In summary, the optimal ventilation condition is to monitor indoor and outdoor air quality conditions, calculate the result, and control the ventilation or air conditioning system accordingly.

Here, although not shown in FIG. 1, according to an embodiment, a central control device (not shown) installed in an emergency rescue center such as a fire station may be further included in the entire system, and the central processing unit 30 has an indoor air quality above a predetermined value. In case of serious pollution, information about the indoor air quality may be transmitted to the central control unit connected through the communication network. For example, when a fire occurs and a lot of pollutants such as carbon monoxide suddenly occurs in the indoor air, it may be determined that a fire has occurred, so that the information is transmitted to the central control unit so that the fire station can be contacted.

Hereinafter, the function will be described in more detail through the detailed configuration of the central processing unit 30.

Referring to FIG. 2, the central processing unit 30 includes an air quality measuring unit 210, a display control unit 220, an external device control unit 230, a storage unit 240, an optimum condition extraction unit 250, and a main control unit 260. ). Here, each component of the central processing unit 30 is not necessarily implemented in hardware, it is obvious that some or all may be implemented in software such as a program.

The air quality measuring unit 210 of the central processing unit 30 collects the sensing information received from the indoor sensor unit 10 and the outdoor sensor unit 20 to determine indoor / outdoor temperatures, humidity, and various concentrations of pollutants such as indoors and outdoors. Function to measure air quality.

The display control unit 220 controls the display unit 40 to display the air quality information so that the user can check the measured air quality information according to the indoor and outdoor air quality. As described above, the display control unit 220 displays the information on the indoor air quality and the outdoor air quality through the display unit 40, and also displays the optimum ventilation condition together with the information on the proper air quality.

The external device controller 230 controls driving of a ventilation device and / or an air conditioning device connected through an internal communication network such as a cable or a home network. Here, as described above, the ventilation device is one or more fans, a piston release for opening and closing the window, etc., and the air conditioning device is not only an air conditioner generally referred to, but also an air cleaner, air conditioner, etc. Any device that controls indoor air can be included.

The storage unit 240 stores data necessary for recognizing an optimal ventilation condition according to the air quality as shown in FIG. 3. Since the description is redundant, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The optimum condition extraction unit 250 functions to extract the optimum ventilation condition according to the case where it is determined that the indoor air is contaminated according to the measured indoor / outdoor air quality with reference to the data stored in the storage unit 240.

The main controller 260 performs an overall control function so that each functional unit of the central processing unit 30 performs each function, and in particular, the display control unit 220 and / or the external device control unit 230 according to the recognized optimal ventilation condition. To control its operation.

Although not shown in the drawings, as described above, other components such as a communication unit for transmitting information on indoor air quality to the central control unit may be further included in the central processing unit 30.

Hereinafter, the indoor air quality monitoring process performed by the central processing unit 30 will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a process for monitoring indoor air quality according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is an exemplary view showing a screen displaying an optimal ventilation condition according to indoor air quality according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, the central processing unit 30 acquires sensing information detected from the indoor sensor unit 10 (S410).

The central processing unit 30 compares the detected sensing information with a reference value according to the appropriate air quality (S420). In other words, to determine whether the current indoor air quality is in a proper air quality or contaminated state, the indoor indoor air quality is contaminated by comparing sensing information with reference values such as temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide amount and formaldehyde amount according to the appropriate air quality. Can be judged. For example, when the reference value of the concentration of carbon dioxide in the air is 1 ~ 10ppm, and the measured indoor carbon dioxide exceeds 10ppm, it may be determined that the indoor air is contaminated by carbon dioxide.

Therefore, the CPU 30 determines whether there is an exceeded element as a result of comparing and analyzing the sensing information and the reference value (S430). The excess element refers to a substance that exceeds the reference value among various substances (eg, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, dust, formaldehyde, etc.) that may be included in the air. Hereinafter, elements exceeding the reference value as described above will be referred to as a reference value excess material.

If the reference value excess material does not exist, information on the indoor air quality according to the sensing information is displayed so that the user can check the content of the sensed indoor air quality (S445).

On the contrary, if there is a reference excess material, the central processing unit 30 extracts an optimal ventilation condition corresponding to the reference exceeding material (S440). As described above, the central processing unit 30 presets and stores an optimum ventilation condition suitable for each indoor air quality pollution state, so that the optimal ventilation condition suitable for the current indoor air quality condition can be extracted. In addition, as described above, the central processing unit 30 may extract an optimal ventilation condition corresponding to the state of the indoor air quality as well as the outdoor air quality. Since the above description will not be repeated, and for this purpose, the method may further include acquiring sensing information according to outdoor air quality from the outdoor sensor unit 20 in step S410.

Thereafter, the central processing unit 30 outputs an optimum ventilation condition, which can be displayed through the connected display unit 40 so that a user can check the operation (S450), or an external device such as a connected ventilation device and / or an air conditioning device ( 110 may be controlled to operate (S460).

Here, the control method of the ventilation device or the air conditioner may be proportional control, step control, on-off control and the like. For example, the proportional control refers to the proportional control between the ventilation device and the air conditioner, and the step control refers to the degree of operation of each device (for example, the degree of ventilation strength).

For convenience, one example of controlling the ventilation and air conditioning system by comparing the outside air quality with the indoor air quality is that if the external temperature and humidity are not much different from the indoor temperature and humidity, the air volume is large, and the difference is large. It is to control the fan to operate with the air volume. In addition, if the measurement of indoor carbon dioxide concentrations and other substances greatly exceeds the reference value, it is to perform rapid ventilation with large air volume, and if the difference is not large from the reference value, the excitation volume intermittent ventilation or continuous ventilation is performed.

Here, referring to FIG. 5, when the central processing unit 30 outputs the optimal ventilation condition through the display unit 40, the legal standard and the current indoor air quality according to all substances included in the air or the reference value exceeding material (and Outdoor air quality) can be displayed together.

The indoor air quality monitoring method according to the present invention described above may be embodied as computer readable codes on a computer readable recording medium. Computer-readable recording media include all kinds of recording media having data stored thereon that can be decrypted by a computer system. For example, there may be a read only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic tape, a magnetic disk, a flash memory, an optical data storage device, and the like. In addition, the computer-readable recording medium may be distributed and executed in a computer system connected to a computer network, and may be stored and executed as a code readable in a distributed manner.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. It will be understood that various modifications and changes may be made.

10-1, 10-2, ..., 10-n: indoor sensor unit
20-1, 20-2, ..., 20-m: outdoor sensor
30: central processing unit
40: display unit
100: indoor air quality monitoring system
110-1, 110-2, 110-3, ... 110-k: External device
210: air quality measurement unit
220: display control unit
230: external device control unit
240: storage unit
250: optimal condition extraction unit
260: main control unit

Claims (10)

An indoor sensor unit for sensing indoor air pollution;
An outdoor sensor unit for sensing an outdoor air pollution degree;
A central processing unit which measures indoor air quality based on the sensing information by the indoor sensor unit; And
Including a display unit for displaying the indoor air quality,
And the central processing unit outputs an optimal ventilation condition with reference to the outdoor air quality by the outdoor sensor unit when it is determined that the indoor air quality is contaminated compared with a preset reference value. The method of claim 1,
The central processing unit controls the connected ventilator to perform a ventilation function when the outdoor air quality is lower than the indoor air quality, and when the outdoor air quality is higher than the indoor air quality, the connected air conditioner performs an air conditioning function. Indoor air quality monitoring system, characterized in that to control to. The method of claim 1,
The indoor sensor unit and the outdoor sensor unit measures the temperature or humidity of the indoor and outdoor, respectively, and the central processing unit to minimize the change in the indoor temperature or humidity based on the measured indoor temperature or humidity and outdoor temperature or humidity Indoor air quality monitoring system, characterized in that to output the optimum ventilation conditions. The method of claim 1,
The indoor sensor unit or the outdoor sensor unit includes any one of volatile organic compounds (TVOC), total floating dust (TSP), formaldehyde (HCHO), carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), ozone (O3) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). Indoor air quality monitoring system, characterized in that sensing one or more. The method of claim 1,
The central processing unit controls the display unit so that the measured indoor air quality and the reference air quality are displayed together. The method of claim 1,
And the central processing unit transmits the information on the indoor air quality to a central control device connected through a communication network, when the pollution state of the indoor air quality is determined to be a dangerous level. In the method of monitoring indoor air quality (IAQ),
Determining the contamination state of the indoor air by comparing the sensed indoor air quality with a preset reference value;
Recognizing a ventilation condition with reference to the sensed outdoor air quality according to the indoor air pollution determination result; And
Controlling the connected ventilation device to perform a ventilation function or controlling the air conditioning device to perform an air conditioning function according to the ventilation condition. The method of claim 7, wherein
If the outdoor air quality is lower than the indoor air quality control the ventilation device to perform a ventilation function, and if the outdoor air quality is higher than the indoor air quality control the air conditioning apparatus to perform an air conditioning function. Indoor air quality monitoring method. The method of claim 7, wherein
If it is determined that the pollution state of the indoor air quality is a dangerous level, the indoor air quality monitoring method further comprising the step of transmitting information on the indoor air quality to a central control device connected through a communication network. A recording medium in which a combination of instructions for performing the method of any one of claims 7 to 9 is tangibly embodied and a program readable by a digital information processing apparatus is recorded.

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