Automated standalone gas heater

Project Title

Automated standalone gas heater

Project Area of Specialization Internet of ThingsProject Summary

Health Safety is a major issue in current era. Carbon monxide poisoning is the major cause of deaths in this world and good safety systems are needed to be implemented. According to a survey by NCBI there are 5 million people across world who die because of carbon monoxide (which is produced during gas burning) and gas leakage.

And loss due to these accidents become even more sever, it can also kill whole family either buy burning them or by suffocating them. Carbon monoxide poisoning is one of the major problem which can cause death, because it cause suffocation. During this poisoning people experience nausea and dizziness. Several people have been suffocated and some got burned. So we have worked on a project in which we have built a device which can be attached to gas heater making existing heater smart. So, here we have designed a system which works autonomously.

This project aims at providing an accurate, IoT enabled, autonomous and efficient solution (consisting of carbon monoxide sensor, methane sensor, controller, GSM/Wi-Fi modules and mobile application) for detection of any poisoning either of carbon monixide or methane. Our smart system will continuously (24/7) monitor the major signs (poisoning indicator, battery charging, ON/OFF, etc.) of room where the heater will be placed. After acquiring the data through sensors, the proposed system will run the algorithms to identify the poisoning in any of the aforementioned vital signs. In case of any undesired condition, heater will alarm user by buzzer sound and also by LED signs, and OFF action will be performed by microcontroller to the heater, to control the further poisoning.

 There are some features of it. One of the important feature is to turn on and off gas appliance by itself. Also when amount of carbon monoxide in air reaches at its hazardous level, it autonomously turn off the whole gas system. The hazardous level for carbon monoxide is 500ppm. This is the level at which human can’t survive and can even be on death bed. Also it notifies the person about hazardous condition either by alarm. This system can be turned on and off wirelessly. Basic purpose of this project is to implement it on domestic level.

Project Objectives

A gas heater is used by people from all economic backgrounds, and though one cannot deny its widespread use, it is also a source of lethal gasses. As in autopsy the test of carbon monoxide is not conducted normally. Although it is a global problem but in under developing countries, this problem is more severe. There are devices which can detect carbon monoxide and natural gas. However, these devices are just alarm devices. They simply alert their users about production of carbon monoxide at a threshold level. 

These accidents based on gas heater usage can be reduced to a minimum level by introducing a proper solution. One of the proposed solutions to this problem is building a device that does not just alarm the user, but also acts on stimulus autonomously. With this alert, it will also inform the user that the room should be ventilated.  For developing countries it is difficult to afford this kind of device for safety purposes. Cost is major problem in these countries. Therefore, one of the most important targets of this project is to build a safety device which is cost efficient.

The objectives of the project are

1. Developing an IoT enabled low cost and standalone gas heater for pre-detection of carbon monoxide to avoid its poisoning.
2. building a smart heater to detect leakage of methane which can turn ON/OFF accordingly.
3. Monitor the vital signs like buzzer, alarming LEDs, charging LEDs, etc. For indication of leakage of methane or carbon monoxide production.
4. Storage and processing of sensor’s data of different intervels at the central server.
5. Turning ON/OFF of gas supply in case of alarming situation.
6. Development of alarm and notification system through mobile application, GSM and Wi-Fi.
7. This whole system should be low cost and can be affordable for majority of the people living in Pakistan.

Project Implementation Method

The project has it's both hardware and software part. Software part is for microcontroller i-e Arduino nano, and the harware part includes whole mechanical part driving DC motor and controlling valve to turn ON and OFF heater. we have build charging circuit to charge the batteries of heater so it can operate autonomously in case of cut of power supply. We Implemented the PCB designed circuit into an ordinary gas heater. To test this PCB designed circuit we designed an acrylic box with an inlet and outlet. in which carbon monoxide and methane is injected to test functionality of circuit.

Benefits of the Project

People living in developed countries have higher GDP per capital. To implement safety measurement in all of their buildings is not big deal there. But for developing countries it is difficult to afford this kind of device for safety purposes. Cost is major problem in these countries. Therefore, one of the most important benefit of this project is it's cost efficiency

The second most important benefit of this project that this device poses no risk to human lives. This device is time efficient with maximum response to exposure of carbon monoxide and methane. Suffocation and burning issues can be reduced by attaching this safety device with any ordinary gas heater. As such, not only is this device intended to be cost efficient, but also, it will cater to a wider audience.

Benefits of this device are as follows:

1. This smart heater device is easy-to-use, simply adoptable and cost effective.
2. The device don’t need direct power supply but it can be powered up using batteries.
3. Data from multiple intervals can be treated and analyzed.
4. Such a smart system can bring a remarkable change in rate of deaths due to excess burning or due to leakage of methane in Pakistan.
5. Data can be easily accessed through Wi-Fi enabled smart devices.
6. Cost efficient distinction of this device also ensures its access to ordinary home users for efficient measuring of vital signs to maintain theirlife safety.

Technical Details of Final Deliverable

Final deliverable includes an autonomous gas heater with having all features of autonomus control and IoT in case of harzardous condition. All the data relating to leakage of methane and carbon monoxide gas will be sent to Wifi making it IoT based. We have set threshold of 500 ppm for carbon monoxide gas to turn OFF the gas heater, so it can not suffocate the room. We are basicaly controlling the valve to turn ON/OFF the gas heater. We are charging the the heater with the help of charging circuit.

Here are some technical details:

Sensors Selection

Sensors which we have used are selected on the basis of working efficiency and cost efficiency. Life of sensors was one of the major issue. We selected MQ5 and MQ7 or detection of carbon monoxide and methane. These sensors also have good and reliable life around 5 years. Here is the summary of sensors.

Charging circuit

Charging circuit plays a very important role to make it standalone system. This charging circuit is charging batteries on which the whole system is operating. One of the most important feature of this circuit is that it will only draw power and gives to microcontroller in case of any operation. If no operation will be performed the system will draw zero power from batteries.

Data communication through wifi

We initially tested all the sensors on Arduino. Then we shifted to ESP32 for using its built-in Wi-Fi shield for communication with online Cayenne’s server.

App development

To access the data remotely from online server, an App is also subjected to be developed. So that, device can be made easy to use and easily adoptable. It will give an instant access to the alrming situation created by any gas heater.

Embedded battery

An embedded battery is used to operate the whole circuit for wireless setup. Additional circuitry for charging the battery is also included in the final prototype of the device. Small sized high power Li-Ion battery is required to use in smart device to make it compact.

Final Deliverable of the Project Hardware SystemType of Industry Manufacturing Technologies Internet of Things (IoT)Sustainable Development Goals Life on LandRequired Resources

Item Name	Type	No. of Units	Per Unit Cost (in Rs)	Total (in Rs)
			Total in (Rs)	29917
Arduino nano	Equipment	2	500	1000
MQ2 sensors	Equipment	2	180	360
Power bank IC	Equipment	1	80	80
Soldering glass	Equipment	1	500	500
MQ2 sensor	Equipment	1	200	200
Flow sensor	Equipment	1	450	450
1N4007	Equipment	25	25	625
1K resistor	Equipment	8	12	96
3.3V Zener Diaode	Equipment	3	5	15
WD 40	Equipment	1	350	350
7806	Equipment	5	10	50
tp4056	Equipment	3	50	150
Dc to Dc Buck	Equipment	2	800	1600
26BYJ-48 stepper motor	Equipment	1	200	200
2N2222	Equipment	10	3	30
MQ5	Equipment	3	180	540
Dc-Socket	Equipment	5	10	50
Solding bit	Equipment	1	50	50
ULN 2003	Equipment	3	20	60
Male and Female Strips	Equipment	4	10	40
3m Wire	Equipment	3	50	150
Lead 928 coper	Equipment	1	300	300
scue	Equipment	1	20	20
LM317	Equipment	5	20	100
BD139	Miscellaneous	12	6	72
KJ charger 8600	Equipment	1	1000	1000
L298 Module	Equipment	1	200	200
12-24VD gear motor (6 wire)	Equipment	1	450	450
Small crew Motor (2 wire)	Equipment	1	250	250
ESP8266	Equipment	1	250	250
L293D Ic	Equipment	2	75	150
9435	Equipment	3	33	99
2 pin G connectors	Equipment	10	5	50
Arduino Nano	Equipment	1	330	330
Buzzer	Equipment	4	15	60
L293D Ic	Equipment	2	80	160
TP4056	Equipment	3	50	150
6V relay	Equipment	2	30	60
Dc to Dc Buck 2596	Equipment	2	90	180
2 Cell Holder	Equipment	0	0	0
Lm339	Miscellaneous	2	20	40
Acrylic Sheet box	Equipment	1	2000	2000
Motor Griper	Equipment	2	700	1400
Handle valve	Equipment	1	300	300
Ordinary Heater	Equipment	1	3500	3500
Methane gas	Equipment	1	200	200
Safety masks	Equipment	2	6000	12000