Microcontroller Based Real-Time Power Monitoring Module by Hybrid Power Factor Selection Algorithm

In this work, a hardware module is developed to monitor real-time power consumption of home appliances at regular time intervals. The module comprises one microcontroller units, a voltage sensor, and five current sensors. This paper introduces a cost-effective and easy to deploy Hybrid Power Factor (PF) Selection Algorithm (HPFSA), which enables active power measurement with good accuracy and minimizes the required hardware components for this module. The developed module considers PF computation error with supply frequency variation through HPFSA and gives accurate value of true power in real-time. Additionally, it can sense the total energy consumption of various appliances distributed throughout the home and send the consumed power data to the cloud for remote monitoring. This real-time load monitoring of home appliances is essential for applications such as energy conservation, smart home automation, and load management.