Implementation of an RF based wireless automated energy metering and billing system

There are certain electrical power losses which have been affecting the availability of electrical power in developing countries. The rate of non-technical losses in developing countries is quite high which ranges from electricity theft and non-payment of bills. Therefore, this paper is aimed at the design and implementation of a Radio Frequency (RF) based wireless automatic energy meter reading system. This system uses a digital energy meter consisting of current and voltage sensors, analog to digital converters, a microcontroller and a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) unit. The Base Station Wireless interfaced device was able to perform the desired interfacing function between the energy meter and the base station. Bills and reports were generated by the PC software and the outputs were found to be accurate. This system does not only reduce the cost of labour but also increases meter reading accuracy

AUTOMATIC METER READING USING ZIGBEE

The real-time monitoring of a data is crucial in ensuring the accuracy of the acquired data. It determines whether the device is properly working or in fault. This paper proposed the design and implementation of a ZigBee-based wireless automatic meter reading system. It focuses on the development of a device that is capable of monitoring meter reader remotely. It sends the data hourly or daily using Zigbee as the transmitting medium. The proposed device uses software; XCTU, Arduino Programming Language, Multisim and hardware; Microcontroller, Pulse generating circuit, Zigbee antenna, 16X2 LCD Display to actually demonstrate the result. This device has a good potential in wireless meter reading due to its low-cost, low power consuming, and low data rate. The input is the pulse generated by the pulsating circuit and the output will be shown onto the LCD display and in the XCTU software proving that it transmitted wirelessly. The results successfully shows the data is received as what it is transmitted. If the prototype would be able to be completed within time limit, the author might explore more on using GSM/GPRS module to transfer the data further in term of distance. The report consists of an introduction, problem statement, objectives, literature review and methodology used to solve the problem. It further looks into the obtained results with consistent discussion

A Survey on Communication Networks for Electric System Automation

Published in Computer Networks 50 (2006) 877–897, an Elsevier journal. The definitive version of this publication is available from Science Direct. Digital Object Identifier:10.1016/j.comnet.2006.01.005In today’s competitive electric utility marketplace, reliable and real-time information become the key factor for reliable delivery of power to the end-users, profitability of the electric utility and customer satisfaction. The operational and commercial demands of electric utilities require a high-performance data communication network that supports both existing functionalities and future operational requirements. In this respect, since such a communication network constitutes the core of the electric system automation applications, the design of a cost-effective and reliable network architecture is crucial. In this paper, the opportunities and challenges of a hybrid network architecture are discussed for electric system automation. More specifically, Internet based Virtual Private Networks, power line communications, satellite communications and wireless communications (wireless sensor networks, WiMAX and wireless mesh networks) are described in detail. The motivation of this paper is to provide a better understanding of the hybrid network architecture that can provide heterogeneous electric system automation application requirements. In this regard, our aim is to present a structured framework for electric utilities who plan to utilize new communication technologies for automation and hence, to make the decision making process more effective and direct.This work was supported by NEETRAC under Project #04-157

OLIMPO, An Ad-Hoc Wireless Sensor Network Simulator for Public Utilities Applications

This paper introduces OLIMPO, an useful simulation tool for researchers who are developing wireless sensor communication protocols. OLIMPO is a discreteevent simulator design to be easily recon gured by the user, providing a way to design, develop and test communication protocols. In particular, we have designed a self-organizing wireless sensor network for low data rate. Our premise is that, due to their inherent spread location over large areas, wireless sensor networks are well-suited for SCADA applications, which require relatively simple control and monitoring. To show the facilities of our simulator, we have studied our network protocol with OLIMPO, developing several simulations. The purpose of these simulations is to demonstrate, quantitatively, the capability of our network to support this kind of applications

Internet of Things-aided Smart Grid: Technologies, Architectures, Applications, Prototypes, and Future Research Directions

Traditional power grids are being transformed into Smart Grids (SGs) to address the issues in existing power system due to uni-directional information flow, energy wastage, growing energy demand, reliability and security. SGs offer bi-directional energy flow between service providers and consumers, involving power generation, transmission, distribution and utilization systems. SGs employ various devices for the monitoring, analysis and control of the grid, deployed at power plants, distribution centers and in consumers' premises in a very large number. Hence, an SG requires connectivity, automation and the tracking of such devices. This is achieved with the help of Internet of Things (IoT). IoT helps SG systems to support various network functions throughout the generation, transmission, distribution and consumption of energy by incorporating IoT devices (such as sensors, actuators and smart meters), as well as by providing the connectivity, automation and tracking for such devices. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive survey on IoT-aided SG systems, which includes the existing architectures, applications and prototypes of IoT-aided SG systems. This survey also highlights the open issues, challenges and future research directions for IoT-aided SG systems

Performance Analysis of Discrete Wavelet Multitone Transceiver for Narrowband PLC in Smart Grid

Smart Grid is an abstract idea, which involves the utilization of powerlines for sensing, measurement, control and communication for efficient utilization and distribution of energy, as well as automation of meter reading, load management and capillary control of Green Energy resources connected to the grid. Powerline Communication (PLC) has assumed a new role in the Smart Grid scenario, adopting the narrowband PLC (NB-PLC) for a low cost and low data rate communication for applications such as, automatic meter reading, dynamic management of load, etc. In this paper, we have proposed and simulated a discrete wavelet multitone (DWMT) transceiver in the presence of impulse noise for the NB-PLC channel applications in Smart Grid. The simulation results show that a DWMT transceiver outperforms a DFT-DMT with reference to the bit error rate (BER) performance

AUTOMATIC METER READING USING ZIGBEE

The real-time monitoring of a data is crucial in ensuring the accuracy of the acquired data. It determines whether the device is properly working or in fault. This paper proposed the design and implementation of a ZigBee-based wireless automatic meter reading system. It focuses on the development of a device that is capable of monitoring meter reader remotely. It sends the data hourly or daily using Zigbee as the transmitting medium. The proposed device uses software; XCTU, Arduino Programming Language, Multisim and hardware; Microcontroller, Pulse generating circuit, Zigbee antenna, 16X2 LCD Display to actually demonstrate the result. This device has a good potential in wireless meter reading due to its low-cost, low power consuming, and low data rate. The input is the pulse generated by the pulsating circuit and the output will be shown onto the LCD display and in the XCTU software proving that it transmitted wirelessly. The results successfully shows the data is received as what it is transmitted. If the prototype would be able to be completed within time limit, the author might explore more on using GSM/GPRS module to transfer the data further in term of distance. The report consists of an introduction, problem statement, objectives, literature review and methodology used to solve the problem. It further looks into the obtained results with consistent discussion

Development and optimization of zeolite synthesis route from natural koalin for adsorption of dyes

Synthesis of zeolite using kaolin as the main source of alumina and silica has been identified as a novel zeolite production process, which could reduce the cost of using the synthetic reagents and the high energy consumption. A low grade kaolin was used for studying the most suitable synthesis route and operating parameters for producing a high yield and pure phase zeolite. The study adopted the alkaline activation and microwave assisted heating as modification techniques of the conventional hydrothermal synthesis process. Calcination and crystallization proceses were identified as the bottleneck operations within the process. Hence, this study employed 2k factorial design of experiment to study the relationship of metakaolinization temperature of 600 – 800 oC with calcination time of 1 – 5 hours. And that of crystallization time of 9 – 16 hours with aging treatment time of 12 – 36 hours. Central Composite Design (CCD) is used for optimization with axial and center point for factors evaluation towards the responses; yield percent (%) and crystallinity (%) for crystallization process. Based on the Response Surface Methodology (RSM), with desirability value of 98.67 %, the significant parametric aging condition is 27 hours and crystallization time is 9 hours were suggested to yield an optimum product for 80.47 yield percent and 76.92 crystallinity. Three confirmation runs were performed based on the suggested optimum parameter and the calculated error value was found to be below 10 %. The synthesized zeolite-A from the confirmation runs was characterized through XRD. The results were then corroborated with the analytical results from SEM, BET and FTIR. The activity of the synthesized zeolite A was confirmed by a structural refinement analysis, that identified the product as a member of the cubic crystalline systems, belonging to a Fm3c space group with lattice cubic structure values where