A Smart Distribution Box Controller for Customer-Based Operations

In recent years, electricity demand in South Africa rises to approximate maximum supply capacity during peak hours. A new tariff plan is proposed by Eskom to bill consumers according to off-peak and peak times in an attempt to curb peak-time loads. In this paper, the design of a smart distribution box controller is proposed in order to assist consumers to control or regulate energy consumption during off-peak and peak times. The designed smart system assigns various loads to different priorities and removes non-priority loads during peak times. It also monitors the voltage, frequency, current and sunlight. Results show 25 % reduction of energy consumption and cost savings up to 40 % are possible with the use of smart distribution box.