An IoT-Based Smart Energy Meter With Real-Time

Power Tracking System: A Review

Md. Hasibul Islam1*, Touhidul Islam Talukder2, Fatema Tauze Zohora Saima3, Md. Nur Islam Rimon4,
Jabed Ali5
12345
Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
12345
American International University-Bangladesh
12345
Dhaka, Bangladesh
*1
[email protected], [email protected], [email protected],
2
4
[email protected], [email protected]

Abstract— Smart metering is a modern topic with rapid and time data at any time, remotely or locally. In this digital
continuous development. Smart metering offers the advantages world, IoT helps to monitor energy consumption by
of software running systems in measuring and managing the connecting with the digital and physical world to maximize
building utilities such as energy, water, gas, etc. The design and resources. With this smart device, the electric distributor and
development of an IoT-based smart energy meter with a real-
users can monitor daily electricity consumption and the total
time power monitoring system device has been reported in this
study paper. System idea has been designed that will be used to consumption bill. By rapid development of the Internet of
monitor electrical parameters such as voltage, current, and Things (IoT) has developed its application to communicate
power of household appliances with grid and solar power. The through embedded systems and sensors. Users can become
proposed system consists of a smart sensing unit that will detect more aware of their electricity usage by monitoring the
the home electrical appliances used for daily activities by system since it displays the parameters in a graphical display
following different tariff rates. It will reduce costs for the that reminds them of their usage status and encourages them
consumers and thereby improve grid stability. For electricity to consume less electricity. It is a smart meter that allows for
tracking, there will be voltage and current sensors, remote monitoring through a web application and shows the
microcontrollers, and Wi-Fi modules. Consumers will be able to
information on voltage and current usage in a home in a
access to see the power ratings through a smartphone app from
anywhere and anytime. Finally, solar and grid power will be specific way using wireless technology. It is also a real-time
connected to the device as a power source. Furthermore, this device that collects data by area to determine how
measured power would be delivered directly to the electricity consumption varies in a room. The data is saved in a cloud-
distribution office. They will even be able to make the electric based database. The use of an intelligent meter would enable
bill from the office without going from one home to another. The resource optimization by automating reading processes and
power consumption will be tracked by the main distribution eliminating the need for staff to perform (kWh) unit readings.
board in this research study. The uses of this system would save energy and contribute to
environmental pollution reduction.
Keywords— IoT, dual power tracking, solar energy, smart
microgrid, fault detection
The motive of this research is to provide information on
existing power monitoring systems and to introduce an IoT-
I. INTRODUCTION based smart energy meter that will send regular power
The world's energy demand is rapidly rising as a result of consumption notifications to consumers through the internet.
overpopulation and technological innovations, so power Often, the energy meter will send daily electricity
generation leads to a shortage, and it highly affects the consumption data to a server, where the electric distribution
economy of a nation. For future energy demand, it is therefore company will be able to see total power and calculate
essential to choose a safe, cost-effective, and endless monthly electric bills without having to visit the customer's
renewable energy source. Solar energy, like some other home. Solar and grid power will be connected to this energy
alternative energy sources, is a promising and widely meter to provide a continuous power supply. The computer
available source of energy for overcoming long-term can gather data using various sensors and update it using a
challenges in the energy crisis. It has transformed into a way variety of software and servers. Using a power monitoring
to improve the economic condition of developing countries approach, this proposed framework would concentrate on
and to improve the lives of many underprivileged citizens, as data collection, processing, and decision-making.
it is now cost-effective as a result of years of intensive study. The remaining portions of the paper are grouped into four
Users use electricity for both commercial and domestic categories. Section II. contains the literature review, while
purposes. While electricity is a necessity in today's world, it Section III. contains the engineering issue statement for an
must be used properly because day by day it has become a IoT-based smart energy meter with a dual power tracking
challenging issue. Using a smart power monitoring system in system. Section IV. discusses the proposed system, and
the household system can help to reduce power consumption Section V compares this system with the traditional method.
by providing data to the users to overcome the high bill usage. Also, section VI explains the conclusion of the proposed
The smart monitoring system works with Arduino, Wi-Fi, system.
and GSM Short Message Service (SMS) modem and II. LITERATURE REVIEW
transmits the consumption to customers and staffing.
Authorize consumers can check power uses at any time In 2019, S. Banerjee et al.[1] designed a model entitled
anywhere in their phone with the help of the Internet of "Real-Time Monitoring and Control of Consumed Power for
Things (IoT). It is wireless communication so we can get real- Household Appliances using Arduino Uno through Bluetooth

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and Android Application." They used an Android application Metering of Variable Power Loads." They showed a non-
to display the power consumption of each appliance intrusive approach for monitoring the power usage of variable
individually, as well as the overall billing number. Along demand loads. The method could be used to detect NILM at
with measuring overall electricity consumed, their device any location, including commercial and industrial buildings,
keeps track of total electrical power consumed per hour and homes, and transportation systems. In 2019, S. New et al.[6]
generates a load curve, which was used to calculate the did a project that was "Design and Implementation of a Real-
optimum billing volume using a two-part tariff. The key goal Time Energy Monitoring and Reporting System." For the Hal
of their prototype was to lower the overall demand power Marcus College of Science and Engineering building at the
used by the customer in order to minimize the total billing University of West Florida, they created a Real-Time Energy
rate. The entire project was powered by one 60-watt tungsten Monitoring and Reporting Tool (UWF). The project was the
lamp, two 25-watt compact fluorescent lights, one 40-watt result of collaboration between two Capstone Project teams,
table fan, and a 1.2-HP DC electric motor. Via the HC-05 one of which worked on the project's hardware configuration
Bluetooth module, the optimum power usage was shown in for storing data in a database and the other on the device
an Android phone. In 2018, L. Susanti et al.[2] did a project interface for accessing, tracking, and reporting data. As a
that was "A Configuration System for Real-Time Monitoring result of their research, the institution was able to monitor
and Controlling Electricity Consumption Behavior." They energy consumption and quality in real-time, evaluate past
recommended using a user's smartphone to configure a real-time data, and find trends that could be used to reduce energy use.
energy monitoring and control system. Users would be notified The visualization and reporting program was written in
and given updates about the state of electrical/electronic devices Python and used in combination with a separately built
that had been discarded, encouraging them to take the appropriate hardware interface. It also had an MYSQL database. The
steps to dispose of them. The proposed framework allowed program was built into a hardware interface that measures
smartphone users to understand and monitor their energy use data from UWF buildings using IoT-connected sensors. Data
behavior. The researchers began by identifying power from the sensors was gathered and stored in a database,
consumers and studying how they used electricity in public including voltage, current, electricity, and frequency. The
buildings. After that, a configuration scheme was developed project's program was used to translate the data and view it in
to track and manage the amount of energy used, and a test graphical and tabular outputs that were customized by the
was run to model and verify the system. In 2020, K. C et al.[3] users. In 2016, V. Tanasiev et al.[7] created a project entitled
proposed a scheme that was "Smart Power Distribution "Web service-based monitoring system for smart
system for Residential and Industrial Applications." They management of the buildings." They embodied the decision-
suggested a smart power delivery system that would allow for making entity's fundamental structure in automatic or
the most efficient power distribution in residential and intelligent buildings. Three layers made up their built tech
industrial areas. The system's goal was to create decentralized approach. The first layer used different web services to
methods for determining optimal actual and reactive power process data obtained from sensors, which were then
setpoints for photovoltaic (PV) inverters in homes. Voltage launched by a programmed scheduler. The collected data
control and network failure minimization are two secondary from sensors was safely placed in a database and recording
efficiency targets that traditional PV inverters do not fix. files by the second layer. Authenticated users used the third
They chose the inverters for delivering auxiliary services layer to review and export data in a variety of formats. They
using optimal power flow techniques. They also wanted to demonstrated how a network of wired sensors could be used
figure out the best actual and reactive power setpoints based as a building security solution or as part of a smart
on output metrics and economic goals. Broad delivery management framework in their article. In 2015, Haider-e-
networks may benefit from the proposed system. The Karar et al.[8] designed a model that was "Solar power
suggested decentralized approach was also used to create an remote monitoring and controlling using Arduino, LabVIEW
energy audit report that shows real-time power usage across and web browser." They proposed a graphical user interface
many loads. In 2015, M. Abo-Zahhad et al.[4] suggested a (GUI) for controlling and monitoring DC power provided by
prototype entitled "Design and implementation of building solar panels and DC power consumed by loads both locally
energy monitoring and management system based on and remotely in real-time. There were two graphical user
wireless sensor networks." For effective load control, they interfaces available, one for the server and one for the client.
developed and introduced an energy management scheme A server device was required near the solar panels for local
(EMS). The proposed framework consisted of two major monitoring and control, while the client GUI could be
components. The first component was an Energy accessed through a web browser from anywhere in the world,
Management Unit (EMU), which featured a graphical user allowing an authorized individual to track and control all
interface for tracking and controlling energy use in real-time. operations. LabVIEW and LabVIEW UI builders were used
The sensor nodes, which calculated the power consumption to create the server and client GUIs, while Arduino Uno,
of various loads and sent it to the EMU through a multi-hop current and voltage meters, relays, and a charge controller
network, were the second component. To connect with sensor were used to create the hardware. The monitoring interface
nodes, the EMU was built using NI LABVIEW software and used real-time calculation results to create power, current,
the XBee-PRO ZigBee package. The Arduino Uno and voltage graphs, as well as the ability to log and access a
microcontroller, XBee-PRO ZigBee board, and the ACS712 database file to analyze the history of a renewable energy
current sensor were used to create the hardware model. As a source (RES) device. The machine also assisted in improving
case study, the EMS was used to build the Electrical the efficiency of the original solar system as well as other
Engineering Department at Assiut University. In 2015, W. renewable energy sources. This device control tool included
Wichakool et al.[5] proposed a model that was "Smart a graphical user interface with power generation and usage,

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voltage and current graphs, and meters. Turning on/off the solar as a power source with the help of ATS (automatic
system, increasing or decreasing electricity consumption, transformer switch).
generation, and transitioning to another available system were all When grid electricity becomes available, solar power will be
control features. In 2011, Woong Hee Kim et al.[9] developed switched off. There will be current sensors and voltage
a Real-time Energy Monitoring and Controlling System sensors to implement this idea. Voltage sensors and current
based on ZigBee Sensor Networks. Several separate sensors will measure the real-time voltage and current, which
apparatus were combined into a wireless sensor network will be calculated as the power to the energy meter. As a
platform for a smart home community. This device could microcontroller, an Arduino Uno will be used to control the
work in tandem with other devices to provide mobile devices whole system. To communicate with the cloud server
to smart home consumers. In 2017, Bharathi R et al. [10] built ESP8286 Wi-Fi module will be used. Solar power and grid
a Power Consumption Monitoring System using IoT. The power will be used as power sources. An automatic transfer
fundamental goal of this paper was to quantify energy switch will be used to turn ON/OFF based on grid power.
demand better and eliminate electricity misuse. Electricity
losses can be minimized by using their model. It is possible
to reduce the amount of money paid for work and the amount
of time it takes to find work. The time delay caused by manual
metering and the errors that might occur may be minimized
to a large degree. It also had a unique Id for each account, and
the administrator can modify or add new users and control
power on an hourly or regular basis. In 2021, D. D. Putra et
al.[11] proposed a model that was "Energy Management
System with IoT Connectivity for Portable Solar Power
Plant." They suggested the development of an energy
management system for a portable solar power plant that was
connected to the Internet of Things (IoT). As a result, power
consumption can be easily controlled, and battery capacity
can be easily monitored using smartphones, tablets, or
computers.
Fig. 1. Schematic Diagram
III. ENGINEERING PROBLEM STATEMENT
The suggested system is represented schematically in Figure
There are several processes available today to track 1. One room diagram is drawn to understand the whole
household energy use. The electric bill is now obtained by prototype.
walking from the consumer's energy meter. Smart meters can The cloud communication system is given below in Figure 2.
be used in place of conventional electromechanical meters to
provide users with more efficient control over their energy
use. Smart meters could be used in the creation of a smart
grid-like electrical system. In the eyes of consumers, it is
more convenient to use a cost-effective, quick, and versatile
tracking device. This form of system influence is advanced
for customers to monitor and reduce their energy usage; it
does not replace conventional meters and has the benefit of
being smaller, allowing it to be conveniently moved to
another location. These monitoring programs may be
communicated via a computer or a mobile phone and transmit
data through wireless communications or by connecting to a
remote web monitoring center, depending on their
refinement.
IV. PROPOSED SYSTEM
Fig. 2. Cloud Communication System
A. Schematic Diagram
Figure 2 shows the cloud communication system of the
A smart energy meter with domestic power monitoring
suggested prototype. First, the sensors will read the data from
with cloud communication has been proposed in this paper.
the system and pass it to the cloud server through a
This system will be able to measure home appliance power
microcontroller.
usage. The consumer will be able to see the daily power usage
through the mobile application. The user will also be able to
check monthly power usage on the energy meter where solar
power and grid power will be displayed. Grid Power and
Solar power will be used as power sources in this prototype.
When there is no grid power, then solar power will be used

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B. Overall Block Diagram The difference between a conventional meter and a smart
energy meter is shown below in Table I.

TABLE I. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CONVENTIONAL AND SMART

ENERGY METER

Conventional Energy Meter Proposed Smart Energy Meter

1. Only solar or grid power is 1. Both solar and grid power will
measured be measured
2. Not IoT-Based 2. IoT-Based
3. No storage 3. Storage will be available
4.Meter reader must visit 4. Meter reader will be able to
personally to collect data collect data from the office with
the help of a server
5. Low efficiency 5. High efficiency
Fig. 3. Overall Block Diagram of the Suggested Prototype
6. The customer is unable to monitor 6. Customers will be able to monitor
real-time power use. their power usage in real-time.
The overall block diagram of the proposed concept is shown 7. The is a chance that human error 7. There is no chance that human
in Figure 3. There is two power source which is solar power may influence the bills. error may affect the bills.
(renewable energy) and grid power. It has two
communication ports, one for consumers another for
authority. Any mobile app can be used to see real-time data. VI. CONCLUSION
And any webserver can be used to see the real-time data on The Internet of Things (IoT) collects data from automated
the server to the authority. The mobile app will always update objects and assists the computer in determining where it
the latest data to the consumer, and the user will be able to wants to go. Arduino, Wi-Fi, and GSM are all used in this
see any unusual power usage. On the other hand, the authority smart power monitoring system. The device provides home
will be able to see the real-time data through the server. They automation and power management through an app created
can download the Microsoft Excel file from the server can by the company. In comparison to a traditional system, the
make an electricity bill. proposed system saves more electricity. The overall energy
consumption was measured using the proposed IoT-based
V. COMPARISON WITH TRADITIONAL METHOD smart dual power monitoring system, and it was sent directly
Power meters are instruments that measure how much to the customer and electric distributor so that they could see
energy is used. In a few locations, the power meter has been both power usage ratings. Solar energy is used as a renewable
used and is still operational. The smart meter is linked to a energy source in this project. A monitoring electrical
small monitor that is connected wirelessly and displays the consumption device is presented in the proposed prototype. It
amount of energy used in real-time. For greater accuracy, is made up of wireless modules that collect, process and
characteristics, safety, quality, performance, and analyze data, and it has the advantage of being scalable due
perceptibility, a smart electricity meter replaces a to its modular design. Furthermore, the data will be accessible
conventional power meter. Traditional energy meters do not to the user at all times through the mobile application and
store data, so a meter reader must personally visit the authority via the Web application. By measuring the
customer's home or business to collect data before sending electricity, the distribution company will provide the
records to the metering company. Current use is being tracked customer with a monthly electric bill. Although this device
by either waiting for customers to pay their bills weekly, was designed for a home, it can be used to regulate and track
monthly, or annually or manually reading the household electrical use in buildings, factories, and other large
meter. As a result of the lack of interruption detection, the infrastructures using the same design concept and wireless
distribution industry is unable to respond quickly to supply technology instead of wired networks.
disruptions. Manual connection and separation are also
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