ARDUINO BASED WIRELESS POWER METER

By Christopher McNally

Abstract:
One avenue through which today’s energy problems can be addressed is through the reduction of energy usage in households. The existing utility system only provides feedback at the end of the month in the form of a bill and consumed kilowatt hours (kWh). A homeowner has no way to track their power usage on a more immediate basis. The Arduino based wireless power meter is a non-invasive current meter for household power with a Matlab interface. Current is measured using split core current transformers. This data is then transmitted over a 802.11b connection through the home’s wireless router to the base station and Matlab interface. The project aims to provide a clear picture of a home’s current usage, and through this data provide an estimate to power consumption. The project also aims to identify which devices turn on and off by analysis of this current data. The goal of provided such data to a user is that they will optimize and reduce their power usage.

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