Title :
Turbidity sensing as a building block for smart appliances
Author_Institution :
Micro Switch Div., Honeywell Inc., Freeport, IL, USA
Abstract :
The US Department of Energy standards for laundry and dishwashers are expected to be announced soon for appliances built after Jan. 1, 1999. To meet these high-efficiency targets, the OEM designers are searching for practical solutions to improve the efficiency of these appliances. The availability of turbidity sensing on appliances will provide design engineers with a way to determine how soiled a particular load of clothes or dishes may be so engineers can then create a control system that adapts the operation of the machine to save water, time, and energy, while providing superior cleaning performance. Because of this capability, the turbidity sensor is emerging as a key building block developing the next generation of energy-efficient “smart” appliances. This article is intended to provide some insight to the origin of turbidity sensing, improvements to the technology since its introduction, and its relative importance to the appliance industry today. Different turbidity sensor configurations are discussed, along with practical design issues the engineer will need to address
Keywords :
domestic appliances; energy conservation; optical sensors; optical variables measurement; turbidimetry; turbidity; US Department of Energy standards; appliance industry; cleaning performance; dishwashers; efficiency improvement; energy saving; high-efficiency targets; smart appliances; turbidity sensing; turbidity sensor; washing machines; water saving; Earth; Home appliances; Light scattering; Measurement standards; Optical scattering; Particle measurements; Particle scattering; Shape measurement; Silicon compounds; Size measurement;
Journal_Title :
Industry Applications Magazine, IEEE
DOI :
10.1109/2943.589891
