DESCRIPTION

ABSTRACT

       Energy measurement devices are very important in homes, Industries, organizations and parastatals. They help to measure the current, voltage and most importantly energy consumed by the equipments used by them; thereby, enabling them to make efficient use of the energy supplied to them.

      This project describes the design and construction of digital meter with power consumption control. It has the ability to measure the current, voltage, power and ultimately the energy consumed by any load connected to its output. Its power consumption control helps it to cut off any load beyond 1000watt.

    The testing of the energy meter gave the expected results when it was used to test series of loads. It displayed the current, voltage and power consumed by the loads.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 PREAMBLE

     An Energy Consumption Monitoring device is a microcontroller-based electronic metering device installed in the building to measure the amount of electric energy consumed by household electrical equipment such as lighting and security systems. It is installed near the consumer premises to record energy consumed by them. It makes it easier for the user to be conscious of giving priority to the appliance needed at a specific time while unplugging all other unused electrical appliances which can as well prolong their life span as it serves as a measure of safety and reliability. That is, it saves energy and thus saves money.

         This device is very useful as it has wide application for Houses, Apartments, Shops, Restaurants, Clinics, Mosques, Churches, School, Offices, and so on to aid in maximizing productivity, reducing losses and increasing profit.

        A vivid example of an energy consumption monitoring device is a wattmeter. The traditional analog wattmeter is an electrodynamics instrument. The device consists of a pair of fixed coils, known as current coils, and a movable coil known as potential coil.

       The current coils connected in series with the circuit, while the potential coil is connected in parallel. Also, on analog wattmeter, the potential coil carries a needle that moves over a scale to indicate the measurement. A current flowing through the current coil generates an electromagnetic field around the coil. The strength of this field is proportional to the line current and in phase with it.                                             

     A modern digital electronic wattmeter/energy meter samples the voltage and current thousands of times per second. For each sample, the voltage is multiplied by the current at the same instant; the average over at least one cycle is the real power. A computer circuit uses the sampled values to calculate RMS voltage, RMS current, VA, power (watts), power factor, and kilowatt hours. The readings may be displayed on the device, retained to provide a log and calculate averages, or transmitted to other equipment for further use.

.

1.2 AIM AND OBJECTIVES

         The aim of this project is to design and construct a digital watt meter with power consumption control capability.

         The objectives are to:

i) Identify and examine the various energy measuring instruments.

ii) Design and construct a digital meter that has the ability to control power consumption

iii) Examine its advantages over previous energy measuring instruments.

iv) Evaluate its performance.

1.3 SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY:

     Digital meters are used in industries to control the power expended by devices. They have the ability to trip a device off when the load circuit it is supplying is more than the rated value.

Hence, it serves as an improvement over other energy measuring instruments by saving lives and

properties.

1.4 SCOPE OF THE PROJECT    

      This project is centered on a wattmeter that will be constructed using a microcontroller to give the corresponding values of the voltages, currents, power and the energy from the supply by the appliance and then the outputs are displayed on the LCD and also saved. The device can only operate as expected when appliances are measured below values of 1000 watt.

1.5 LIMITATION

The device has the ability to monitor appliances of power values below 1000 watt.  Appliances of higher power ratings cannot be measured .It does not also have the ability to control the energy by putting off loads of higher ratings or unused appliances by tripping a circuit breaker that may be connected to it for protection.