36 Energy Consumption Monitoring and Protection System
Swetha P, Shakthi Raagavi S, Sneha M, Sivakeerthana S, Saravana Kumar S*
Department of Electronics & Instrumentation Engineering Kumaraguru College of Technology
Coimbatore – 641 049, India
* Corresponding author: saravanakumar.s.eie@kct.ac.in
Abstract
Globally, energy resource management is a big concern. Energy is a thing which is in need of the hour.
Electricity is where humans are dependent. We know that the sources which are involved maxi- mum energy production are decreasing day by day, so it is significant to monitor the electric energy con- sumption and tend to decrease wastage and save electricity. In this paper we have brought out a way to monitor the energy consumed by the individual loads through sensor networks. With sensors, electricity data can be detected and communicated remotely, and users can oversee and control appliances from their computers or mobile devices. Here, Current transformer, potential transformer, and microcontroller (Ar- duino), Wi-Fi module are used as a major component. Users can save energy by monitoring and controlling the appliances using the system's terminal. This study provides an overview of energy monitoring through sensor technology and wireless networks.
Keywords: Current transformer, Potential transformer, Arduino, Wi-Fi module (ESP8266).
Introduction
In the present era, the energy consumption rate rises every day, and efficient use of electric energy by users is one of the most important ways to im- prove energy efficiency, lower power generation, and supply costs, and address environmental prob- lems. Living standards and quality of life have risen to unprecedented heights because of the develop- ment of new and innovative technology so the use of electronic and electrical gadgets has become a crucial aspect of modern life. Increased use of elec- tronics and electrical appliances, on the other hand, has resulted in an unparalleled growth in energy consumption. As a result of the demand-supply gap, the price paid by the end-user continues to rise on a yearly basis. As a result, optimizing energy use and developing more energy-efficient technologies and electrical systems are critical. So, we develop a system that monitors the energy consumption of each, and every appliance being used and displays the appropriate parameters like current, Voltage,
Reactive Power, Frequency, Power factor, and Ac- tive power in the Web application and the end-user can visualize and track their usage. The current and voltage of individual appliances are measured with Current Transformers and Potential Transformers, with Arduino UNO as a microcontroller. Where A current transformer (CT) is a device that measures current in another circuit. CTs are used to monitor high-voltage lines on national power networks all over the world. A CT's secondary winding is de- signed to create an alternating current proportionate to the current measured in its main winding and a potential transformer is an instrument transformer used in power systems to scale down main current and secondary voltages from a greater to a lower secondary potential output voltage level. A low-volt- age instrument such as a voltmeter, wattmeter, or watt-hour meter, for example, can easily measure this transformer. A "step-down" voltage transformer reduces the voltage of a high voltage circuit to a lower voltage circuit to measure voltage dips. To
37 record phase angle or ratio errors, potential trans-
formers are connected across or parallel to the line that is being measured. The Arduino Uno is an open-source Arduino board that features an AT- mega328p microcontroller. The Arduino Uno has a number of analogue and digital pins that are used to link the board to other components. Inboard, there are fourteen I/O pins, six of which are ana- logue input pins. USB ports are available on board for powering it.
In cloud storage, Firebase feedback is superior to indirect feedback like the platform, and the Firebase Realtime Database allows you to create complex collaborative apps securely through client-side code accessing the database. When the user is offline, real-time events continue to trigger, keeping the user informed even after they have left the applica- tion. ESP8266 Wi-Fi Module is used as a data trans- fer medium because it is a standalone SOC with TCP/IP protocol stack built in, which may enable any microcontroller to access your Wi-Fi network.
Sohaib worked on the design and development of an energy consumption measuring plug which al- lows for real-time monitoring and management of appliance energy use. The proposed system has led to about 12% reduction in average power con- sumption when compared with legacy systems [1].
Long suggested at the cost of greater energy losses, the goal for improving the voltage profile increased the headroom of the voltage limitations by the great- est margin [2]. According to the Calofir article, the simulator applications range from load control to generation control, as well as numerous specialised automation tasks and grid energy management [3].
Thaung suggested system can track and gauge electricity consumption in real-time. Users of the proposed system will be able to remotely manage computer-based real-time electricity usage [4]. Re- mote monitoring of renewable energy systems is presented using a data analytics tool, which allows real-time performance monitoring and helps in maintenance planning [6]. To mitigate the interfer- ence caused by the coexistence of WSNs and WIFI
networks, the proposed smart home system used CoZNETs. To reduce energy consumption by using natural light with the light source, a light control sys- tem has been developed [8]. As part of an adequate management of electricity consumption, it must be possible to improve the structure and operating state of the public distribution networks, as well as improve the quality of the supply service by better understanding the characteristics of electricity con- sumption among different consumers. Thus, in this paper, the authors present a complex consumption monitoring system [9]. ESP8266 is used as a com- munication unit and an Arduino microcontroller as a processing unit. A voltage sensor, a relay, and an ACS712 current sensor constitute the sensing unit.
By using the system, building managers can im- prove building efficiency through proper operation and maintenance [10].
Write down your introduction in this section. You can cite a journal [1] or book [2] using IEEE format.
With approximately 800 words count, write down your introduction in this section. The objectives of this study are:
• To design a system that could monitor the energy consumed by individual load.
• Providing benefits to industries.
• To store the records in the cloud so that the user could keep track and compare the power consump- tion for every minute.
• To help users in reducing the unnecessary energy consumption
Research Methods Components used:
Current Transformer: Current Transformers (Fig.1) produce an alternating current proportionate to the primary current in their secondary windings, forming a sort of "instrument transformer". An AC transmis- sion line's real electric current can be safely
38 monitored with a normal ammeter by reducing high
voltage currents to a relatively low value.
Fig. 1. Current Transformer
Potential Transformer: A voltage step-down trans- former decreases the voltage of a high voltage cir- cuit to a lower level for measurement purposes.
These are linked to the line to be monitored, either across or parallel. This transformer works on the same basic principle as a regular power transformer and is built similarly. The abbreviation PT is com- monly used to refer to potential transformers (Fig.2).
Fig. 2. Potential Transformer
Arduino UNO: The Arduino UNO is a basic Arduino board. The Arduino UNO is powered by a micropro- cessor called an ATmega328P. In comparison with other boards, such as the Arduino Mega, it is easy to use. Circuitry, shields, and digital and analogue input/output pins (I/O) are located on the board. Ar- duino UNO is equipped with 6 analogue pins, 14 digital pins, a USB connector, a power jack, and an ICSP header (In-Circuit Serial Programming) which has been shown in (Fig.3). It is programmed using the IDE (Integrated Development Environment).
The IDE is the same for all Arduino boards.
Fig. 3. Arduino UNO
ESP8266 WiFi Module: The ESP8266 WiFi Mod- ule(Fig. 4) is a standalone SOC with an integrated TCP/IP protocol stack capable of providing any mi- crocontroller access to your WiFi network. The ESP8266 has the option of hosting an application or offloading all Wi-Fi networking operations to a dif- ferent application processor. Each ESP8266 mod- ule comes pre-configured with an AT command set software. The ESP8266 module is an inexpensive board with a sizable and expanding community.
Fig. 4. ESP8266 Wi-Fi Module
Arduino IDE: The Arduino IDE is a free and open- source programme for writing and uploading code to Arduino boards. A text editor for writing software, a message area, a text console, a toolbar with but- tons for essential operations, and a menu system are all included in the Arduino Integrated Develop- ment Environment (IDE). It interconnects with and uploads programmes to the Arduino hardware. The logo of Arduino IDE has shown in (Fig 5).
39 Fig. 5. Arduino IDE
Firebase: Backend-as-a-Service provider Firebase (Baas). It offers a wide range of tools and services to developers to aid in the development of high- quality apps, as well as the growth of their user base and revenue. It's based on Google's technology.
Firebase is a NoSQL database that uses JSON-like documents to stockpile data. The workflow of this study is shown in Fig.6.
Figure. 6. Workflow
The basic motive of our project to the monitor the parameters
Of the consumption of load and the parameters are
• Current
• Voltage
• Power Factor
• Frequency
• Reactive Power
• Apparent Power
Processing the output from the current and potential transformer is used to monitor basic parameters like current and voltage. Other parameters such as fre- quency, phase difference, Reactive Power, Appar- ent Power, and Power factor are calculated using the appropriate formula based on the characteris- tics of the output wave signal such as pulse width, time period, on-time, and off-time. To maintain the accuracy of the measured parameters, transform- ers are calibrated. The collected data of the param- eters are then transferred to the Firebase cloud for storage and then transferred to the web application via the Wi-Fi module (ESP8266 Wi-Fi Module) and thus displayed in the web application which can be accessed and monitored by the end-user.
Results and Discussion
In this paper, a low-cost method of monitoring the energy consumed by individual devices using Cur- rent Transformer, Potential Transformer as the sen- sors and Arduino as the Microcontroller is proposed and implemented in a small-scale level. The pro- posed prototype can monitor the energy consumed by individual devices and can display parameters like Current, Voltage, Frequency of the AC Current, Power, and Energy with respect to individual de- vices. By calibrating the transformers and adjusting the error value, it could be observed that the ob- served parameters vary within a range of +/-1.05%
from the actual value of the parameters. Fig. 7 shows the Arduino IDE results.
40 Figure. 7. Workflow
The Prototype can be integrated with a control sys- tem that protects the device from circuit malfunc- tions like short-circuiting, power surges, and circuit overloads, etc., Currently, this device only measures the power consumed by individual de- vices and doesn’t bring the faulty load to the lime- light by itself. The device can be made more user- friendly by automatically identifying the faulty load by analyzing the previous power consumption of the load and the user can be informed of the details of the load and its location via the Web/Mobile Appli- cation. As a result, the user can easily identify, mon- itor, and restore the faulty load back to its proper
working state. Using IoT, the device can be made more advanced by integrating a remote-control sys- tem through which the user can automatically switch ON/OFF the load from distance using the Mobile/
Web Application. It also ensures the safety opera- tion of the device by the user when the load goes faulty.
Conclusion
While it is encouraging that the entire globe is mov- ing toward using renewable energy sources to gen- erate power, it is also critical to watch how we de- ploy the power generated from these renewable sources to maintain a sustainable environment. We built and deployed this system to help with sus- tained and controlled power usage, in keeping with the importance of energy saving. Our device takes advantage of cloud computing to hoard and show real-time data so that the user may keep track of it from anywhere at any time.
Customers' electricity use is measured via meters, which are often mounted on the outside of the cus- tomer's property where the power line enters. These energy meters have a number of flaws, including the fact that they only read the amount of energy con- sumed and do not account for any electrical energy that is squandered or stolen indirectly by tapping the phase line. In the authorized energy meter, the real- time flow of electrical energy cannot be evaluated.
As a result, we created a model that can measure the amount of energy used by various loads and send the information to the user's mobile phone, which they can access remotely.
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