Low cost, Robust and Multi-Functional Smart Meter

Abstract

Environmental awareness, current trends in the power market, the quest for energy efficiency, and the progressive transformation of electricity consumers to prosumers are the primary drives for the gradual shift from the old power grids into the smart grids. The deployment of renewable dispersed generation systems and energy storage units uncovered the need for smart metering to oversee and control those generation systems. This chapter presents the design and development of a robust, efficient, multi-functional, and low-cost smart meter. The proposed metering system has added features that enabled the utilities to recover the meter energy measurement data remotely. The system allows monitoring and transmission of energy consumed in real-time. It considers using a microcontroller board as the controlling unit to execute control and monitor activities. A liquid crystal display displays standard electrical measurements such as current, voltage, power, and energy consumption. The external communication device is required in the unit’s actualization, in conjunction with the control unit based on the existing mobile technology. It stands as the intermediary between the nearby available utility station and consumers or end-users. In conclusion, liquid crystal display displays real-time based data for the end-user to visualize. The usage data billing is done within thirty seconds, stored, and trans-received the process for data collection, keeping, and billing generation.