HardwareX (Oct 2022)
Development of a low-cost IoT system based on LoRaWAN for monitoring variables related to electrical energy consumption in low voltage networks
Abstract
Energy efficiency is an issue that is currently gaining relevance, high electricity demands worldwide generate a negative impact on the planet caused by the natural depletion of resources associated with production processes. In this regard, the technologies associated with the Internet of Things (IoT) are considered as a tool to optimize processes and resources through the monitoring of variables. In this context, this work proposes a low-cost electronic system with IoT architecture used in the monitoring of electrical variables, this becomes a support tool in the estimation of energy consumption in internal distribution electrical circuits of homes or small industries. This device generates information to recognize consumption patterns and load balances per electrical phase, contains two hardware modules and a software user interface. The first is an electronic node that includes a high-performance polyphase meter based on the Atmel M90E32AS chip, which is controlled by an ESP32 chip, for wireless communication is used a Radio Frequency (RF) module in the 915 MHz band and LoRa protocol based on the Semtech SX1278 transceiver, this node is able to measure and transmit variables such as current, voltage, active energy, reactive energy, power factor and other electrical variables in circuits of up to three phases. For the study, a calibration process was carried out in an accredited laboratory (Metrex S.A. in Colombia), then tests were performed by monitoring a three-phase 110V electrical circuit in a small factory, with the information generated it was possible to identify consumption patterns over a period of seven consecutive days, important data such as times when energy is wasted due to improper use of loads connected to the network, electric stoves, computer equipment turned on during non-working hours are examples of the results obtained.
