Building Use Efficiency Platform

Authors

Luke Bogus, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Matthew Vavricek, University of Nebraska - LincolnFollow
Rachel Nordgren, University of Nebraska - LincolnFollow
Brian Reynolds, University of Nebraska - LincolnFollow
Shreeya Vaitla, University of Nebraska - LincolnFollow

Date of this Version

5-2021

Document Type

Thesis

Citation

Bogus, L., Nordgren, R., Reynolds, B., Vaitla, S., & Vavricek, M. 2021. Building Use Efficiency Platform. Undergraduate Honors Thesis. University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Comments

Copyright Luke Bogus, Matthew Vavricek, Rachel Nordgen, Brian Reynolds, Shreeya Vaitla 2020.

Abstract

With the rise of hybrid workforces, people are shifting the way they interact with the built environment. Accelerated by COVID-19, businesses are feeling the pressure to adjust given the rising costs of office ownership and leasing. With the ever-changing space utilization requirements by companies and employees alike, businesses need data-driven insights to answer the questions: How do their employees use their current space? How can they lower utility costs? How can they optimize their future floor plans and remodeling projects?

Introducing the Olsson Building Use Efficiency Platform, a custom sensor and web application platform that provides an end-to-end experience for building engineers and building science specialists to collect, analyze, and visualize data of building and office spaces. With data collection of environmental factors such as temperature, humidity, lux, UV, and occupancy, this custom product enables Olsson to create a new product line that empowers clients with data-driven recommendations for future remodeling, building, and engineering projects with Olsson.

The team developed a custom hardware solution based on the Z-Wave wireless protocol using two different components: 1) Off-the-shelf environmental sensors to enable the on-site installation of data-collecting sensors and 2) Raspberry Pi single-board computers to coordinate sensor configuration, data collection, and data uploading. This data is sent to a custom web application—compatible on desktop, tablet, and mobile—to enable the provisioning and pairing of sensors and hubs, filtering and sorting of sensor data, visualizing desired data via a robust charting experience, and exporting data as a CSV file for further exploration.