Improved human image density detection with comparison of YOLOv8 depth level architecture and drop-out implementation

Energy inefficiency due to Air Conditioners (AC) running in empty rooms contribute to unnecessary energy consumption and increased CO₂ emissions. This study explores how different depth levels of the YOLOv8 architecture and dropout regularization can enhance human density detection for smarter AC control systems. By evaluating model accuracy through Mean Average Precision (mAP50-95), we provide quantitative insights into how these modifications improve detection performance. Our dataset consists of 1363 images taken in an office environment at ITERA under varying lighting conditions and different human presence densities. The results show that the YOLOv8m model performs best, achieving an mAP50-95 score of 0.814 in training and 0.813 in validation, outperforming other YOLOv8 variants. Furthermore, applying dropout regularization improves model generalization, increasing mAP50-95 from 0.552 to 0.6 and effectively reducing overfitting. This study highlights the balance between architectural depth and dropout regularization in YOLOv8, demonstrating its effectiveness in energy-efficient smart buildings. The findings support the potential of deep learning-based human density detection in improving energy conservation strategies, making it a valuable solution for intelligent automation systems.