IoT Enabled Power Meter
**Actual PCB Layout
Client server model for real-time monitoring of power usage aimed to simplify and modernise power usage readings and subsequent billing.
Why IoT enabled Power Meter ?
The world is increasingly moving towards a more connected future with an emphasis on monitoring to make our lives more easier and systems more efficient. As such an IoT-enabled Power Meter makes sense, as it allows consumers to monitor power usage in real time as well as allows utility companies to meter consumption remotely or detect outages, thus saving on manpower.
India is experiencing a Smart Revolution
With 23% annual growth in the IoT sector and continued Government support, the field is expected to grow exponentially in the near future and expand in scope. Power monitoring is bound to be enhanced by internet integration to increase the reliability of our power grid infrastructure as well as allow enhanced monitoring to allow for load shed scheduling.
The Existing Situation
The vast majority of meters in our country are still reliant on manual monitoring by utility company employees which are susceptible to misreporting or power theft. The few smart meter concepts that do exist are either too expensive, not rated for high enough current, not user friendly or not accurate enough.
Scope of Our Prototype
Our project can do the following:
Device Design Overview
A summarised list of concepts behind the features
The device has been designed to monitor: Apparent Power, Active power, Reactive power, RMS current and mains RMS voltage, provide current cycle billing value, all while maintaining a detailed log synchronized with the server with robust power failure recovery.��The server backend is handled by Firebase which handles authentication, device linking and database updates. The frontend was made as a Web App with Angular Framework for a dynamic experience.
The Hardware
The device consists of an ESP-32 MCU board as its main controller. This is connected to the PZEM-004T energy monitoring module that communicates with the controller board via the UART protocol. Finally there is a current transformer which is attached with the PZEM module. As simple as that!
Dataflow Algorithm
A simple overview of the data collected and how the collected data is passed across the various services and interfaces.
Firmware Logic
A brief overview of the boot up sequence and the initialisation of services. This shows how the device works step by step after powering on.
The Scheduler
A flowchart illustrating the firmware logic after the bootup sequence when the device synchronizes data with the server. The ESP32 SoC communicates with the PZEM004T power monitoring module over UART, which allows us to have native parity check and skip over clock or any other timing signal.
User Dashboard
The dashboard presented to the user was made with Angular Framework as a dynamic Web App which automatically scales to fit the screen regardless to device
Hardware Setup
The device is in action as shown, it is connected to 220V AC main input and has two 100W incandescent lamps attached as load to monitor their power usage.
Potential Flaws
No device is perfect and neither is ours. Some of the potential drawbacks are
1. Dependent on Wifi, in rural locations where wifi isn’t as popular, alternative technologies like LTE or LoRaWan maybe needed.�2.Our device doesn’t have a display attached to allow for immediate meter readouts.
IoT enabled Power Meter has the potential to revolutionise the power grid by improving uptime, efficiency and power scheduling.
Future Improvements
Instead of using the PZEM-004T module, analog voltage and current sensors can be used for measurement for a more exhaustive approach to accurate data collection. A custom PCB can be made that will make the device footprint smaller and compatible with existing power monitoring infrastructure. We can also integrate features like power theft detection, energy usage profiling to generate power draw heatmap for systemic scheduling or even add remote cut off functionality.