Smart energy saver using ZigBee

• Main Author: Sng, Joshua Wei Hao
• Other Authors: School of Computer Engineering
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2014
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Computer science and engineering::Computer systems organization::Special-purpose and application-based systems
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/58969
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Research and development in energy efficient technologies has been gathering pace since the start of 2013, with the goal of achieving commercialization of such green technologies. Hence, such technologies will improve the energy efficiency of electrical appliances such as refrigerators, washing machines etc. Since energy efficient technology is not widely implemented in most appliances currently, and together with the rising electricity tariffs in Singapore [1], the need to monitor energy usage and to save energy increases. The project aims to meet this need by designing a smart energy saver system that enables the user to not only to monitor the energy consumption of appliances, but also control them according to their desired settings such as energy ceiling, time elapsed, etc. The system consists of two sections. The first section is the simulation of appliances by using a DC motor fan and a simple light bulb. Both are physically connected to a setup of Arduino microcontrollers: the Arduino Uno, Arduino Motor Shield and Arduino Wireless Shield. Basically, the Arduino is programmed to measure the voltage and current usage by the ‘appliances’ and then calculate the energy consumed by them. This section will be placed in an isolated area. The second section is the design of a GUI application that allows the user to interact with the Arduino microcontroller. The program is made up of a simple Windows Form application and is programmed using C# language. Both sections of the system are interfaced with ZigBee. A zigbee module is attached to the Arduino Wireless shield, while for the PC side, the zigbee module is connected serially through the computer’s USB port. At the end of the project, the user is able to remotely control the appliances such as powering on/off the DC Motor fan and light bulb and being able to monitor the energy usage of the appliances. The Arduino will accurately calculate the energy consumed and send the information remotely via Zigbee to the PC.