Low-cost non-intrusive device identification system

This paper explains the design and implementation of a low cost Non-Intrusive Load Monitoring (NILM) system. The system is designed using open source hardware and off-the-shelf components for a cost of below 8 USD. The device identification system makes use of the current-peak signature to uniquely identify devices turned ON at any instance in time. A current sensor is used at the utility service entrance for measuring the current drawn by the devices. The positive current peak data for different devices was used to obtain the devices' current-peak signature. The identification of devices is carried out by the device identification algorithm. An experimental test bench was developed to model, test and validate the system. The system underwent extensive testing for four hundred and twenty man hours over duration of twelve weeks.