Development of an Energy Monitoring and Remote Load Control System

Abstract

Abstract - The management of electricity in Nigeria face challenges, which include issues with inaccurate billing, a lack of consumer awareness with regard to electricity consumption, and a general lack of control over domestic appliances. Even though prepaid metering technology provides greater billing precision, there is a lack of real-time feedback and limited load control functionality. In this paper, the design and development of an IoT-based smart energy metering and automatic load controlling system at an affordable cost is presented. This IoT-based system uses current sensors (ACS712) and voltage sensors (ZMPT101B), which work in conjunction with the NodeMCU ESP8266 microcontroller to sense the real-time values of the electrical parameters, namely the voltage, current, power, and energy. These values are further sent via Wi-Fi connectivity to the Arduino IoT Cloud, where they can be displayed using the Arduino IoT Remote application, which further allows remote control functionality through the relay. For efficient energy consumption, environmental automation has been implemented by the addition of a BH1750 light sensor and a DHT11 humidity sensor. The former can self-regulate a lighting load depending on the surrounding light conditions, whereas the latter can control a socket outlet connected to a fan depending on the humidity. Performance analysis has been carried out by the use of domestic appliances like lighting and plug-in appliances. Results have confirmed the measurement accuracy within a tolerance of ±2.5 V and ±0.2 A compared to a reference multimeter. Data updates were completed within a time span of 2.0–3.5 seconds, whereas the relay control response time ranged from 1.0–3.0 seconds. The developed prototype proves that the integration of smart metering and environment-aware automation through the IoT has the capability to offer efficient and effective energy management. The system has the ability to offer a suitable means to reduce wastages of energy and cut down on the costs of electricity consumed by Nigerian homes.