The design of a microcontroller-based panel measurement and control system

A system called the panel measurement and control device (PMCD) is discussed. The PMCD provides a remote control access to a residential electrical circuit breaker panel box. The PMCD communicates through two optical fiber cables. The executable commands include (1) turning a specified circuit breaker on or off, (2) measuring the current flowing through a specified circuit breaker, and (3) measuring the line voltages. There are 20 controllable breakers in the panel, which can be easily expanded to 40. Because of its compact design, the PMCD can be an ideal universal peripheral for home electrical energy management applications. The design problems discussed involve sensors, controllable breakers, and measurement algorithms, such as RMS-to-DC conversion, sampling control and drift compensation.<
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