Project Name : Energy Economizer
Theme Name : Information and Education Technology
Objective/Aim: To find out the long term energy consumption and power usage of any electrical device or circuit.
Scientific Principle Involved: The device helps to record energy consumption of various electronic devices. It records the data over a particular period of time and then outputs it for us to analyse the energy usage pattern of the existing device. This will help to reduce the use of electrical energy by planning consumption and replacing inefficient devices with advanced ones.
Materials Used:
Current Transformer Sensors, Arduino UNO microcontroller, Data Logger Shield, PCB Components, Resistors (150Ω x6, 39kΩ x4), 10 μF Capacitors (x2), PCB wire Connectors (x2), Male Wire header (x1)
Working investigation/findings: The device uses current transformer sensors which when connected with a burden resistor and applied with a proportional amount of voltage would convert current drawn by a circuit into a proportional voltage that can be measured by the microcontroller. The Arduino UNO sends the current draw data to a data logger shield to save the data within any period of time with timestamps for each sample( over 1400/sec). The data is saved into an SD card which could be accessed and analysed by a user in a computer through our self – developed software known as – Energy Analyser, which shows the total energy consumed within a particular timestamp and also calculates the amount which electricity has cost us.
It tracks and save electricity usage data on a per load basis, over any particular period of time. The device uses components which are priced low in the market making it affordable for many different areas related to electricity consumption.
Utility and Further scope of the project: Our Prototype can be used in households, commercial establishments and industrial areas to track any type of load. This would help the user to get to know the inefficiency of various devices and informing him which device would be needed to get replaced with a one that is less power consuming.
The device can be programmed to calculate absolute and apparent power by measuring the phase difference between voltage and current and use the power factor of various circuits to help pinpoint inefficiency.
The project has the ability to show the energy consumption of electronic devices, this would help the user to get to know where the bulk of their energy consumption is and will make them aware about the inefficiency of various devices.
Functional Block Diagram:
Name of the School: Kasiga School, Dehradun, Mussorie.
