Extraction of Data from an RS-485 enabled Multi Function Meter for Building Monitoring Systems

Data analytics on the electrical parameters is needed in order to improve energy consumption efficiency and prevent adverse events such as power outage, short circuit etc.,. It also helps in protecting and increase the longevity of the electrical equipment. The electrical consumption data is measured usually using the multifunction meter(MFM) installed in residential or commercial buildings. In the commercial buildings, these meters are installed in the panel room(centralised) and in all floors/departments(decentralised). The extraction of data is the first step for the process of data analytics. This paper discusses how the extraction of data is possible from these installed multi function meters. In order to demonstrate the data retrieval process, a hardware lab set up is implemented using RS 485 communication interfaced multifunction meter(MFM). In addition to the MFM, certain modules(both hardware and software) used for the data extraction are also explained in a step by step manner. The validity of the method adopted to extract the data is verified using the real time loading instants.