Cost-Effective, Multipoint, and User-Friendly Temperature Control System for Environmental Chambers

Controlling and monitoring temperature in environmental chambers is very crucial for testing the thermal performance of building envelope systems. However, off-the-shelf options are costly, non-customized, and hard to maintain. Therefore, the goal of this study is to develop a cost-effective, scalable, and user-friendly temperature control module that is capable of monitoring, analyzing, and controlling the temperature in environmental chambers. The PID temperature control module was developed in Python by using an open-source library coupled with an Arduino Uno Rev 3 that interacts with a digital dimmer meant for alternating current. The system was configured to dim incandescent lights which were programmed to increase or decrease the temperature in a confined chamber. Moreover, this module was designed and validated by applying it on an environmental chamber to control and monitor its temperature, and thus the module’s design accuracy and efficiency. The developed module can help future users perform built envelope thermal performance analysis with minimum cost and least design effort.