  The electricity grid is crucial to our lives. House- holds and institutions
count on it. In recent years, the sources of energy have become less and less
available and they are driving the price of electricity higher and higher. It
has been estimated that 40% of power is spent in residential and institutional
buildings. Most of this power is absorbed by space cooling and heating. In
modern buildings, the HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) system
is centralised and operated by a department usually called the central plant.
The central plant produces chilled water and steam that is then consumed by the
building AHUs (Air Handling Units) to maintain the buildings at a comfortable
temperature. However, the heating and cooling model does not take into account
human occupancy. The AHU within the building distributes air according to the
design parameters of the building ignoring the occupancy. As a matter of fact,
there is a potential for optimization lowering consumption to utilize energy
efficiently and also to be able to adapt to the changing cost of energy in a
micro-grid environment. This system makes it possible to reduce the consumption
when needed minimizing impact on the consumer. In this study, we will show,
through a set of studies conducted at the University of Houston, that there is
a potential for energy conservation and efficiency in both the buildings and
the central plant. We also present a strategy that can be undertaken to meet
this goal. This strategy, airflow monitoring and control, is tested in a
software simulation and the results are presented. This system enables the user
to control and monitor the temperature in the individual rooms according the
locals needs.
