Modular Smart Heating Control System

This thesis presents the design, implementation, and experimental evaluation of a modular room-heating control system built from low-cost ESP32 microcontroller units communicating via the ESP-NOW wireless protocol. The aim is to offer an inexpensive alternative to conventional smart thermostats to improve residential heating efficiency. The system architecture combines a central controller with an integrated touchscreen interface, a radiator-mounted actuator, and wireless temperature sensor nodes housed in 3D-printed enclosures. A discrete PID-based heating control algorithm with filtered temperature, anti-windup, and a disturbance supervisor drives a servo-actuated thermostatic radiator valve. At the same time, the sensor units, user interface, central controller, and ESP-NOW links are designed to meet cost and communication latency constraints. Room experiments in a radiator-heated test space show that the controller maintains comfortable indoor conditions and reacts quickly to sudden heat losses, satisfying the response-time requirements. Under steady conditions, however, the algorithm does not consistently remain within the project-defined strict long-term accuracy band. Mechanical and thermal tests further indicate that the selected servo provides adequate actuation for the valve used in testing, but with limited margin for older, stiffer valves, and that PETG plastic enclosure sections near the radiator require reinforcement with a higher-temperature material. The prototype demonstrates that a modular, ESP32-based controller with distributed sensing and wireless actuation provides a practical foundation for residential room-heating control. The approach has the potential to improve thermal efficiency and reduce energy waste. The same platform also supports future work on multi-room deployments, control tuning, and more robust mechanical and thermal design.

Author dc:creator

• Gísli Snorri Rúnarsson 1984-

Contributors dc:contributor

• Háskóli Íslands

• Tæknifræði
• Hitastýring

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/1946/51739

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:skemman.is:1946/51739