Technical, Qualitative and Energy Analysis of Wireless Control Modules for Distributed Smart Home Systems

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

The paper presents mainly power consumption results of several commercial smart home control modules with different types of loads. Results are shown when the module's relay is either on or off, distance from router is far or near, etc.

Below are some comments:

1. In Table 7 and 8, how the data rates for these commercial devices were measured. Details on the instrument used and methodology is needed.

2. In line 560-561, the AC power triangle needs to be shown in the paper.  

3. What's the economic effect of such devices in terms of electricity bill and when will it be significant as a home owner? 

4. Details explanation of Fig 1 is needed describing different blocks clearly.

Author Response

Dear Reviewer – I appreciate your comments and suggestions. They are valuable and open new perspective of looking on my paper. Detail responses are added below:

The paper presents mainly power consumption results of several commercial smart home control modules with different types of loads. Results are shown when the module's relay is either on or off, distance from router is far or near, etc.

Below are some comments:

1. In Table 7 and 8, how the data rates for these commercial devices were measured. Details on the instrument used and methodology is needed.

Answer 1: The results presented in the tables 7 and 8 are for illustrative purposes and were carried out using publicly available Wi-Fi monitor apps available for mobile devices, which also operated the smart home modules analyzed in this paper. In the paper the signal and communication quality were not the main issue, and they were only shortly mentioned in subsection 3.3, therefore the measurements were carried out without the use of professional instruments and dedicated methodologies. For verification purposes, it was decided to use simple Wi-Fi signal scanners based on Android apps used to operate smart home modules with the Wi-Fi Monitor function.

These aspects are described in the text in subsection 3.3 before tables 7 and 8.

2. In line 560-561, the AC power triangle needs to be shown in the paper.  

Answer 2: Thank you for this comment. The question of writing about the so-called the power triangle at this point in the text was considered by the author themselves several times during the writing of the paper and the Section 5 – Conclusions. In fact, this information does not add anything significant to the content of the conclusions and may suggest that measurements were carried out to determine the power triangle. Meanwhile, no such measurements were carried out and its determination was not an element of research or experiments.

Therefore, instead of posting (adding) additional information about the power triangle, in response to the comment it was decided to remove this information and rebuild the sentence in the text.

In the revised version it sounds: “In addition, it was shown that the levels of these powers for AC circuits depends on the type of controlled load” (lines 569-571).

3. What's the economic effect of such devices in terms of electricity bill and when will it be significant as a home owner? 

Answer 3: Thank you for this question. However, this paper did not address economic issues. Mainly because energy prices for home users and households vary in different countries and economies. Therefore, a short general analysis of the possible impact of automation modules on energy consumption in selected home installation circuits was carried out, in relation to popular loads used in households (lighting). The analysis carried out in Section 4 indicates a relatively significant share of selected smart home modules in daily energy consumption, especially considering their continuous operation 24/7. It should also be noted that the analysis considered single modules, while in homes and households, when advanced automation functions are implemented, there may be several or several dozen such modules. Another issue is the possibility of installing modules supporting several relays in one housing, which results in higher power consumption of a single module. However, this paper examined only the simplest and most popular modules for operating single electrical circuits (with one relay). Further research is planned and mentioned in future works – section 5.

4. Details explanation of Fig 1 is needed describing different blocks clearly.

Answer 4: Thank you for this comment. Some additional explanations and descriptions have been added in the text of Subsection 2.1 – directly before the Figure 1. (lines 177-183)

Reviewer 2 Report

This research paper presents a comprehensive technical analysis of various popular smart home modules used for wireless communication in homes. The study focuses on evaluating their power consumption levels in standby and active modes and their impact on the energy efficiency of building installations. The analysis includes measurements for seven different smart home modules controlling various types of loads. The paper also discusses the development trends in home and building automation systems, emphasizing the importance of energy efficiency and integration with renewable energy sources. Additionally, it touches on issues related to data security and communication protocols in smart home networks. The research aims to address the often-overlooked aspect of power and energy consumption by automation modules themselves in building operations, providing valuable insights for further developments in smart systems and the Internet of Things with wireless communication interfaces dedicated to home and building applications.

The proposal is interesting and shows tangible results. Here are my comments:

1. The paper discusses the energy efficiency of smart home modules but does not specify the measurement methodology used to assess their power consumption levels. Could the authors elaborate on the instrumentation and methods employed to ensure accurate and consistent power consumption measurements across different modules and loads? Discuss this aspect extensively in the methodology.

2. The work focuses on the active and reactive power consumption of smart home modules but does not delve into the implications of these measurements on the overall energy efficiency of a building. Could the authors provide insights into how the observed power consumption levels of these modules relate to the energy efficiency of a building, especially in the context of renewable energy sources and smart grids, as mentioned in the introduction?

3. The state of the art can be complemented with:

   • Balasingam, S., Zapiee, M. K., & Mohana, D. (2022). Smart home automation system using IoT. International Journal of Recent Technology and Applied Science (IJORTAS), 4(1), 44-53.
   • Del-Valle-Soto, C., Nolazco-Flores, J. A., Del Puerto-Flores, J. A., Velázquez, R., Valdivia, L. J., Rosas-Caro, J., & Visconti, P. (2022). Statistical Study of User Perception of Smart Homes during Vital Signal Monitoring with an Energy-Saving Algorithm. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(16), 9966.

4. The paper briefly touches on the issue of signal strength and quality decreasing with distance from the Wi-Fi access point. Could the paper delve deeper into the relationship between the communication range of these modules and their power consumption? Are there specific strategies or technologies being developed to maintain reliable communication without significantly increasing power usage, especially in larger buildings?

5. Could the authors provide a more detailed breakdown of the energy consumption of these modules, especially when multiple modules are installed in a typical household, and discuss strategies for optimizing their power usage?

Author Response

Dear Reviewer – I appreciate your comments and suggestions. They are valuable and open new perspective of looking on my paper. Moreover, they suggest me new fields of research for future works. Detail responses are added below:

This research paper presents a comprehensive technical analysis of various popular smart home modules used for wireless communication in homes. The study focuses on evaluating their power consumption levels in standby and active modes and their impact on the energy efficiency of building installations. The analysis includes measurements for seven different smart home modules controlling various types of loads. The paper also discusses the development trends in home and building automation systems, emphasizing the importance of energy efficiency and integration with renewable energy sources. Additionally, it touches on issues related to data security and communication protocols in smart home networks. The research aims to address the often-overlooked aspect of power and energy consumption by automation modules themselves in building operations, providing valuable insights for further developments in smart systems and the Internet of Things with wireless communication interfaces dedicated to home and building applications.

The proposal is interesting and shows tangible results. Here are my comments:

1. The paper discusses the energy efficiency of smart home modules but does not specify the measurement methodology used to assess their power consumption levels. Could the authors elaborate on the instrumentation and methods employed to ensure accurate and consistent power consumption measurements across different modules and loads? Discuss this aspect extensively in the methodology.

Answer 1: Thank you for this comment and suggestion. The idea behind the measurements was to carry out them in the most realistic conditions, without introducing special laboratory conditions that could change the specificity of the operation of smart home modules. Therefore, a stand with simple installation circuits and popular electrical sockets was built. No additional covers/shields or dedicated connection contacts were used. The analyzer was connected to subsequent measurement circuits of smart modules, as is done in classic power quality measurements and power consumption identification.
The assumptions made and the implementation of the stand are described in subsection 2.1. The text has been supplemented with details relating to the elements and blocks indicated in the diagram (Figure 1) to provide detailed information regarding the measurement procedures themselves.

2. The work focuses on the active and reactive power consumption of smart home modules but does not delve into the implications of these measurements on the overall energy efficiency of a building. Could the authors provide insights into how the observed power consumption levels of these modules relate to the energy efficiency of a building, especially in the context of renewable energy sources and smart grids, as mentioned in the introduction?

Answer 2: Thank you for this question. The paper focuses on presenting the results regarding active and reactive power consumption by smart home modules to verify their average levels and collect estimated information about the potential share of automation modules in energy consumption in building installation circuits. However, the data shown in the paper are illustrative, the measurements themselves were carried out over a relatively short period of time (3 weeks) and therefore an in-depth analysis of the impact on energy efficiency was not conducted (and not published) based on the collected data. For such measurements and analyzes it is necessary to build a larger installation for several rooms or a small house. Such activities are planned in the future and are indicated in future works in section 5.
The context of renewable energy sources and smart grid mentioned in Section 1 (Introduction) concerns the use of this type of automation modules in the control functions for this type of infrastructure (as a potential application area), and not with intention to conduct analyzes of the energy efficiency of these modules in relation to RES and smart grid. To better understanding this meaning, a sentence in the Introduction has been changed a little bit (lines 38-39).

3. The state of the art can be complemented with:

• • Balasingam, S., Zapiee, M. K., & Mohana, D. (2022). Smart home automation system using IoT. International Journal of Recent Technology and Applied Science (IJORTAS), 4(1), 44-53.
  • Del-Valle-Soto, C., Nolazco-Flores, J. A., Del Puerto-Flores, J. A., Velázquez, R., Valdivia, L. J., Rosas-Caro, J., & Visconti, P. (2022). Statistical Study of User Perception of Smart Homes during Vital Signal Monitoring with an Energy-Saving Algorithm. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(16), 9966.

Answer 3: Thank you for this suggestion. Both publications are interested, and they have been added within the state of the art with comments. They are not highlighted in the references list since the tool Mendeley used to create/update references. However, of course they are there – positions 16 and 19.

4. The paper briefly touches on the issue of signal strength and quality decreasing with distance from the Wi-Fi access point. Could the paper delve deeper into the relationship between the communication range of these modules and their power consumption? Are there specific strategies or technologies being developed to maintain reliable communication without significantly increasing power usage, especially in larger buildings?

Answer 4: Thank you for this comment and suggestion. However, in this papeer, the author decided firstly to present data and advanced analyzes regarding power consumption and potential levels of energy consumption by popular automation modules. Mentioned by the Reviewer only "brief touch on the issue of signal strength and quality decreasing with distance from the Wi-Fi access point" has been provided in subsection 3.3 to show the reader the dependence of signal strength on distance and its connection with the power consumed by the modules. However, more detailed research and experiments in this area are still being conducted and are planned to be published in subsequent papers. The author added information in the subsection 3.3 (lines 435-436). To clearly indicate this fact, information about it has been added to section 5 - Conclusion and future works (lines 587-593).

5. Could the authors provide a more detailed breakdown of the energy consumption of these modules, especially when multiple modules are installed in a typical household, and discuss strategies for optimizing their power usage?

Answer 5: Thank you for this suggestion. These issues mentioned by the Reviewer are the subject of current research. The data presented in this paper prompted the author to organize a more advanced measurement installation, using various smart home modules and other building automation controllers. The research installation and the simulation verification model are being prepared.
Additionally, it is planned to measure WLAN signals and analyze the layout of Wi-Fi networks in buildings in the context of the functional potential for building automation systems. Research in this area is currently being conducted by the author. Information has been added to section 5 - Conclusion and future works (lines 590-593).