Octopus

Recently, significant efforts have been done to improve quality of comfort for commercial buildings' users while also trying to reduce energy use and costs. Most of these efforts have concentrated in energy efficient control of the HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air conditioning) system, which is usually the core system in charge of controlling buildings' conditioning and ventilation. However, in practice, HVAC systems alone cannot control every aspect of conditioning and comfort that affects buildings' occupants. Modern lighting, blind and window systems, usually considered as independent systems, when present, can significantly affect building energy use, and perhaps more importantly, user comfort in terms of thermal, air quality and illumination conditions. For example, it has been shown that a blind system can provide 12%~35% reduction in cooling load in summer while also improving visual comfort.