Adaptation of a Heat Flux Sensor to Raspberry Pi: A Methodological Approach

Abstract

There is an urgent need to evolve practices and materials in the construction sector, which faces increasing pressure to address environmental concerns. Bio-based materials are emerging as promising alternatives, offering potential benefits in terms of sustainability, energy efficiency, and occupant well-being. However, their thermal performance remains incompletely understood especially at building scale due to their complexity. Thus, advanced monitoring techniques are required to provide accurate data in real conditions. This study aims to create a sensor network for monitoring indoor environmental quality, particularly focused on measuring the thermal parameters of insulated walls. The network uses a low-cost module composed of a heat flux sensor (HFS) system connected to a Raspberry Pi. The choice of Raspberry Pi is due to its increased power, enabling more diverse and complex monitoring. This approach raises technical challenges, particularly in terms of signal acquisition and data processing. The study proposes a methodology for integrating and operating laboratory HFS on a Raspberry Pi, focusing on the choice of analog-to-digital converters. Different hardware configurations were evaluated to ensure sufficient sensitivity and accuracy in heat flux measurement.