ACS 4. Environmental testing for domotic systems
Sophisticated systems that enable the automation of homes and buildings must be thoroughly tested before they are marketed and installed.
The concept of home automation encompasses the various mechanisms that enable the management of environments through the combination of different technologies aimed at improving the quality of life in homes and buildings.
A home automation system is based on IoT technologies; it can coordinate several integrated devices that, unlike traditional systems, talk to each other and can be managed by a single software, locally or remotely.
It is essential to test and validate each system before it is marketed and installed.
The benefits of domotics: home comfort and energy efficiency
It - literally - means 'home automation' and makes it possible to improve the comfort and efficiency of a home or commercial building. Thanks to centralised control devices, it is possible to automate and/or programme many operations: switching lights and appliances on and off, opening and closing windows and doors, managing alarm systems, home entertainment, heating and air conditioning.
All this has a positive impact on living comfort. And not only: it also has undeniable advantages in terms of energy saving and efficiency, allowing the regulation and control of every connected device. Buildings are responsible for over 30% of the world's energy consumption: by upgrading home automation systems with the most efficient technologies, we can save enormous amounts of energy and CO2 emissions.
The importance of environmental testing for the proper functioning of home automation systems
Although no precise standards currently exist and cycles are set by the manufacturers themselves, environmental tests on home automation systems are mainly conducted on electronic circuits, the most sensitive component.
Precisely because of their importance, the behaviour and reliability of electronic components are observed by simulating the combined conditions of Temperature and Humidity.
The main types of environmental tests on electronic components for home automation can be:
- abuse tests, performed by stressing the component through fast gradients (ESS)
- combined Temperature and Humidity tests, even with higher values than the real conditions of use
- endurance tests in fixed and constant stabilisation, i.e. over 500 continuous hours. It is important, in most cases, to avoid condensation forming on top of the test specimen