Proceedings of the World Congress on Engineering and Computer Science 2018 Vol I

WCECS 2018, October 23-25, 2018, San Francisco, USA

Design and Construction of a Load Monitoring

Programmable Energy Meter for Effective
Energy Audit
Joseph O. Olowoleni, Cladius O. A. Awosope, Anthony U. Adoghe, C. A. Okeke, and Francis E.
Idachaba

 programmable energy meter.

Abstract—A load monitoring energy meter has been
presented in this paper. The watt-meter monitors the electrical II. METHODOLOGY
energy consumed by the consumer’s load. The Arduino uno,
current sensor, voltage sensing circuit, keypad and LCD are In implementing this project, the main controller used
the major building blocks of this project. The electric load was the Atmega 328 micro-controller found in the arduino
power is displayed in watts, and the cost of running a Uno. The arduino Uno was powered with 9V dc with its Vin
particular load for a given period of time can be determined by port, while the Atmega 328 is supplied with 5V dc from the
the user by inputting the duration of time (i.e. number of arduino.
hours) the load is to run, using a keypad and the cost is
The research uses a YHDC current sensor capable of
dependent on the programmed tariff plan. Designing a
programmable watt-meter involves the use of an Arduino Uno, measuring a maximum of 100amps. The current sensor is
LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), voltage sensing circuit, YHDC clamped on the positive mains cable; it measures the current
current sensor, and keypad. being consumed by the load and then sends the analogue
signal to the analog pin of Atmega 328 micro controller. A
Index Terms— Arduino uno, YHDC current- transformer, voltmeter circuit is also incorporated in the design, which
20x4 LCD, Potential transformer measures the voltage reading from the mains supply and
sends the analog signal to the analog pin of the micro
I. INTRODUCTION
controller. To calculate power, the micro controller samples

E NERGY crisis is a fundamental issue which has become

a source of concern in this present time. Interrupted and
unreliable electrical power supply has become a menace in
the voltage and current readings thousands of times a
second.
The voltage, current, power and energy readings are
most third world countries. In this present day, some nations displayed on the LCD, with their respective S.I units.
with limited natural resources for generating their Based on the tariff rate used in the code, a user can
electricity, use non-renewable energy sources such as gas, determine how much it will cost to run at a particular load
are faced with the dilemma of changing their electricity rating for a specified time. The time duration is inputted by
tariff rate, based on the cost of gas. the user, using the keypad, and then the cost is displayed on
In some nations, the energy audit system is in a the LCD (Liquid Crystal Display).
deplorable state, and in some areas, public utility consumers
complain of the high electricity tariff rates, while in other
areas, electricity bills are issued at the end of the month
without the DISCO (Distribution company) carrying out a
comprehensive energy audit.
According to ISO50002, “An energy audit is a systematic
analysis of energy used and energy consumption within a
defined energy scope.” An energy audit is like an energy
assessment.
Therefore, to carry out an effective energy audit, there is the
need for a device capable of monitoring the load
consumption and is not prone to the mistakes which are
traceable to manual input. Hence, the need of a

Manuscript received June 23, 2018; revised August 18, 2018. The
Figure 1. Block Diagram of the Programmable Energy
authors wish to appreciate the Center for Research, Innovation, and Meter
Discovery (CU-CRID) of Covenant University, Ota, Nigeria for funding
this research.
J.O. Olowoleni, C.O.A. Awosope, A.U. Adoghe, C.A. Okeke, and F.E.
Idachaba are with the Department of Electrical and Information
Engineering, Covenant University, Ota, Nigeria. (E-mail:
[email protected])

ISBN: 978-988-14048-1-7 WCECS 2018

ISSN: 2078-0958 (Print); ISSN: 2078-0966 (Online)
Proceedings of the World Congress on Engineering and Computer Science 2018 Vol I
WCECS 2018, October 23-25, 2018, San Francisco, USA

III. DESIGN STAGES AND COMPONENTS 100A. Maximum RMS (root mean square value) =
100Amps.
A. Voltmeter Circuit
- Primary peak current= RMS current
The voltage across the mains supply terminals is stepped
down to 12V ac, and then converted to dc by connecting the
12V ac to a bridge rectifier. The rectified voltage is then Primary peak current= 100A = 141.4A
filtered using a 1000-uf capacitor. The output 12V dc is then -The YHDC SCT-013-000 has 2,000 turns,
connected to the positive and the negative terminals of a
variable resistor. A 5-V zenner diode is connected between
Secondary Peak Current =
the ground and the wiper, which is the output of the variable
resistor. This is to ensure that the voltage across the ADC
(Analogue to digital converter) pins of the microcontroller Secondary peak current= = 0.0707A
does not exceed 5V dc, since the maximum voltage rating of -For maximum measurement resolution, the voltage
the Atmega 328 is 5V dc. across the burden resistor should be half of the arduino
The output of the variable resistor has to be calibrated AREF (Arduino reference voltage).
before connecting it to pin A4 of the arduino.
The voltmeter circuit is calibrated thus: Ideal burden resistance =
Max ac voltage reading: 250V ac = 5V dc AREF = 5volts.
The voltage from the mains is measured using an external
voltmeter. Then, the corresponding dc value of the Ideal burden resistor value =
measured ac voltage has to be calculated mathematically. Ideal burden resistor value = 35.4Ω
i.e.
Measured ac value from mains = 230V ac Since a 35.4-Ω resistor could not be found, a 33-Ω
250V ac= 5V dc resistor, which is close enough to the calculated value, was
230V ac= unknown dc voltage used.
Unknown dc voltage= (230*5)/250= 4.6V dc The two 10-kΩ resistors used for voltage divider are to
The variable resistor output will be adjusted to the reduce the 5V to 2.5V.
unknown dc voltage value, and series of processes such as:
low-pass filtering, sample and hold, quantization and C. Power Supply
encoding, occur at the ADC port of the micro- controller to The AC voltage from the mains supply was stepped down
read the analog signal value. to 12V AC by using a potential transformer. The 12V AC
was converted to DC, using a full-wave rectification circuit.
B. YHDC Current Sensor The rectification circuit consists of four rectification diodes
(1N4007) connected in a bridge configuration. After
rectification, the output DC voltage was filtered to remove
ripples and get a pure DC voltage output. A 9-volt regulator
(LM7809) was used to step down the output DC voltage of
13.5V to 9 volt which was used to power the Arduino.
D. Arduino Uno
It is a microcontroller board based on ATmega328P. It
uses a 16-MHz crystal oscillator, and it has 6 analog input
Figure 2. YHDC Current Sensor
pins. 14digital output/input pins, (out of which 6 can be
used as PWM outputs), one USB jack, an ICSP header, one
It is a non-invasive current sensor, it doesn’t have an
power jack and a reset button.
internal resistance. Zener diodes limit the output voltage in
The Arduino Uno can easily be used to program the
the event of a disconnection from the burden resistor. It can
ATmega328p microcontroller, using the Arduino IDE. The
develop sufficient voltage to drive a 5-V input, and in this
Arduino Uno was powered with 9V DC, using the power
work, the YHDC current sensor acts as a CT (current
jack. The Arduino Uno has an internal voltage regulator
transformer). A current transformer usually consists of a
which steps the 9V down to 5V DC for the ATmega328P to
primary side and a secondary side, and in a CT, the
function properly.
transformer has a ten-turn secondary and a one-turn
primary. If 1amp flows in the primary coil, it will result in
0.1amp in the secondary coil. The arduino micro controller
IV. RESULTS
is capable of reading voltage signals, and since the output
from the CT is a current signal, then there is the need to The circuit was connected as shown in the circuit diagram
convert it to a voltage signal. Therefore, a burden resistor is below. The watt-meter was tested with predefined loads
needed. such as an electric iron and it was able to measure the
voltage, current, power and energy. The keypad was also
Sizing the burden resistor: tested. It displayed the cost based on the number of hours
-The maximum current range of the CT been used is inputted.

ISBN: 978-988-14048-1-7 WCECS 2018

ISSN: 2078-0958 (Print); ISSN: 2078-0966 (Online)
Proceedings of the World Congress on Engineering and Computer Science 2018 Vol I
WCECS 2018, October 23-25, 2018, San Francisco, USA

The accuracy of the energy meter was tested by There was a very minimal percentage error when the
comparing the actual power rating to the measured power of reading from the energy meter was compared with that of
some household device [1, 2]. There was a very minimal the actual wattage of the devices.
percentage error when the reading from the energy meter
was compared with that of the actual wattage of the devices. Percentage Error

Percentage Error = =

The highest percentage error was 4%, and the variations

in the measurement could be due to the difference in the
The highest percentage error was 4%, and the variations voltage used in calculating the actual wattage and the
in the measurement could be due to the difference in the measured wattage.
voltage used in calculating the actual wattage and the
measured wattage.

Figure 3. Current Transformer with Burden Resistor

Figure 4. Open Energy Monitor

ISBN: 978-988-14048-1-7 WCECS 2018

ISSN: 2078-0958 (Print); ISSN: 2078-0966 (Online)
Proceedings of the World Congress on Engineering and Computer Science 2018 Vol I
WCECS 2018, October 23-25, 2018, San Francisco, USA

Figure 5. Results

Figure 6. Measuring the Power of a Noodles Maker

V. CONCLUSION ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Implementing this load monitoring wattmeter with its The authors wish to appreciate the Center for Research,
added feature will provide the user with real time Innovation, and Discovery (CU-CRID) of Covenant
information of the energy consumption of the household. University, Ota, Nigeria, for partly funding of this research.
Thus, it leads to reduction of energy consumption and
effective energy audit, thereby reducing energy cost and REFERENCES
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[2] Lipari, G., capua, C., Lugara, M., & Morello, R. (2014). A SMART
including a password to access the keypad. By connecting ENERGY METER FOR POWER GRIDS. INSTRUMENTATION
the energy meter to the web using a WIFI (wireless fidelity) AND MEASUREMENT TECHNOLOGY CONFERENCE.
module, the user can know his or her energy consumption Montevideo, Uruguay: IEEE.
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user can input the maximum energy that will be consumed with-arduino/. Retrieved 2018, from Startingelectronis.org:
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off the power supply to the load. This kind of meter can be with-arduino/
[4] V.preethi, & G.Harish. (2016). DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION
used in event centers, residential areas etc. OF SMART ENERGY METER. Inventive Computation Technlogies.
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[5] Wall, R. (2014). A Report on the properties of the YHDC current
transformer and its suitability.

ISBN: 978-988-14048-1-7 WCECS 2018

ISSN: 2078-0958 (Print); ISSN: 2078-0966 (Online)