Non-intrusive Zigbee power meter for load monitoring in smart buildings

Energy efficiency in smart buildings requires distributed sensing infrastructure to monitor the power consumption of appliances, machines and lighting sources. The analysis of current and voltage waveforms is fundamental for gathering diagnostic information about the power quality and for reducing power wastage. Moreover, it enables Non-intrusive Load Monitoring (NILM), which is the process of disaggregating a household's total electricity consumption into its contributing appliances, by analysing the voltage and current changes. In this paper, an innovative full Energy-neutral (i.e. battery free) and Non-intrusive Wireless Energy Meter (NIWEM) is presented to measure current, voltage and power factor. As key features, the NIWEM is completely non-invasive and it can self-sustain its operations by harvesting energy from the monitored load. It also features a standard (Zigbee) wireless interface for communication with the smart-building system. Experimental results have confirmed that complete energy sustainability can be achieved also with very low-power loads

Emerging Smart Meters in Electrical Distribution Systems: Opportunities and Challenges

High penetration of variable and non-programmable distributed generation has brought new challenges to the power system operation and is highlighting the need of a smarter grid. One of the key requirements in this regard is developing and deploying smart metering systems in distribution networks. In this paper we present the actual situation in the Italian distribution networks and we discuss the opportunities and challenges of applying new metering systems and introducing a flexible, multi-utility, multi-service metering architecture. Some off-the-shelf or prototype smart meters, selected to be tested in an ongoing European project, named FLEXMETER, are presented

Emerging smart meters in electrical distribution systems: Opportunities and challenges

© 2016 IEEE. High penetration of variable and non-programmable distributed generation has brought new challenges to the power system operation and is highlighting the need of a smarter grid. One of the key requirements in this regard is developing and deploying smart metering systems in distribution networks. In this paper we present the actual situation in the Italian distribution networks and we discuss the opportunities and challenges of applying new metering systems and introducing a flexible, multi-utility, multi-service metering architecture. Some off-the-shelf or prototype smart meters, selected to be tested in an ongoing European project, named FLEXMETER, are presented