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Monday, October 8, 2007

POWER TARIFF MONITORING SYSTEM USING EMBEDDED SYSTEM

POWER TARIFF MONITORING SYSTEM USING EMBEDDED SYSTEM

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

1.1 ORGANISATION PROFILE

Technology has been advancing at an incredible pace and as organizations worldwide fight to keep pace with this change, WINMACH INFO SYSTEMS has also updated the trend to focusing on future dominant internet technologies. Besides just web designing, it focuses on server side programming and open systems computing involving different platforms. Besides all these internet technology, Winmach info systems have proved its talent in “System side Programming” and “Embedded Systems”.
The company deals with projects consisting of heterogeneous platforms and extensible markup languages from the clients. WINMACH INFO SYSTEMS is a leading software company a sister concern of Web soft solutions has been in the competitive IT field for the past two years.
The projects in ASP continues to retain its hold on the Windows NT based web server platform, providing an interface to a lot of Microsoft Technologies . This concern concentrates on the ASP platform and also have developed products that are marketed worldwide.
This concern mainly deals with web based projects for abroad and local clients. The company is equipped with the latest web technologies, WEBSOFT SOLUTIONS specializes in software development in Java, ASP and JSP and has developed products that are being marketed world wide. WEB SOFT SOLUTIONS has a tie up with M/s DIMATECH Inc. USA and is implementing overseas software projects in the same.

CHAPTER 2
PTMS-AN OPENING

Governments provide a lot of services to the people, but to provide these, Government needs funds. And the way of raising the fund is the taxes i.e. government charges for the services it provides for the people. One of the services provided by the Government is the supply of the electricity. Every two months electricity board as directed by the Government will collect an amount for the units of current consumed by the people.
The government proposed this project. In a tender issued by the government of India, they have asked people interested to submit a model for automating the energy meter reading process since they are loosing lots of their income in this process.
This project is a model for the process of taking energy meter readings automatically i.e. without human intervention.

2.1 EXISTING SYSTEM
Almost every house in India is connected by electricity line, except in some rural areas. There will be a network of these lines, connecting each house.
The connection comes to each house through as energy meter. The energy meter takes the reading of the number of units consumed. It is an electrical instrument; hence it is an analog meter. There will be a display of the number of units consumed. An employee of the electricity department in every two months will take the reading. The number of units consumed is calculated as:
Current reading on the meter - Previous reading on the meter.
They maintain an electricity consumer card at each house, which the employee will update each time he takes the reading. He writes down the date and current reading. He also takes a sheet, writing down the consumer number and this reading. These readings are taken to the electricity office, calculations
are done and the electricity bill which will be prepared and send to the customers.

2.2 DISADVANTAGES OF EXISTING SYSTEM
Reading about the existing system we might feel that everything is going fine. But because of the current system, government is loosing lots of its revenue.
The government is loosing lots of their fund in paying these employees, where the efficiency of the human being is far less. A person can't even cover 100 houses in a day. With 1000 of houses connected by electricity, the number of employees needed for this purpose is also far high.
The existing system has lots of disadvantages:
· Huge amount of man power
· Huge time to complete the process
· Erroneous readings
· Missed out houses
· Door Locked etc.
As it is human being who are taking the readings dealing with lot of numbers can be confusing for human beings and can cause errors.
So the existing system has lots of disadvantages.

2.3 PROPOSED SYSTEM
To overcome the above said problems the automated power tariff monitoring system with wireless has been proposed. In this system, the consumed energy is converted into pulses. With the help of digital energy meter, micro controller and wireless mode of communication the signals are send to the E. B. server. From the server the data’s will be feed into the system and the calculations are done automatically. On the advantage side, the overstaffing of the electricity board and industrial sectors can be eradicated. Manpower can be reduced. The system will be so accurate and it is also cost effective.

2.4 SYSTEM ANALYSIS AND DESIGN
The main purpose of system study is to specify the problem in the exact way what the problem is or in other words, what is the motto behind developing this project. Before specifying the problem, it should be noted that this project is done not for the sake of doing a project, but after realizing the various problems associated with the existing system.
The modules under the proposed system are:
a. Energy Meter Reading module
b. Transmitter and Receiver module
c. Server Database module








CHAPTER 3
EMBEDDED SYSTEM

3.1 INTRODUCTION
As the pressure increases to deliver products with more features while consuming less power at lower cost, the migration of technology towards embedded core processors are accelerated. Increasing circuit density with each generation allows design teams to deliver more functionality and even complete system on a single chip.
An embedded system is any computer system that performs a dedicated function or specific applications. Examples include industrial, telecommunications and medical applications as well as a broad range of other vertical-market applications.
The first embedded system was introduced in early 1940’s and it was used for then the embedded technology started entering in all domains & its tremendous growth has made it the future of the coming generation.
Dedicated system may use an embedded, or ROM – based system, like PC. But they always are designed to perform a special purpose application – as opposed to a general or multipurpose function, such as word processing, spreadsheet, or database management.
Categories of embedded system
Embedded systems can be broadly divided in to following categories. This categorization is based on whether the system has to work as an independent unit or it has to be networked.
Stand-alone embedded systems
Stand-alone embedded systems work, as the name suggests, in a stand-alone mode taking I/P and producing O/P. The Input can be electrical signals from sensor, or commands from the human beings, such as the pressing of the button. The output can be electrical signals to drive another system, or an LED or LCD for displaying information to users. Many embedded systems for process control in manufacturing unit and automobile fall in to this category. In process control systems the input come from transducers that converts a physical entity such as temperature, into an electrical signal. The electrical signals become the output that can control such as valves. In some standalone systems the deadlines to carry out a specific that may not be very strict, a few milli seconds this way. For example an air-conditioning unit can be set to turn on when the temperature reaches the certain level.
Real-Time Embedded Systems
Some embedded systems are required to carry out specific task in specified amount of time. Consider for example the system has to open a valve in 30 milli seconds when the humidity crosses a particular threshold. If the job is not carried out within the 30 milli seconds’ period a catastrophe may ensue. Such systems in which real time constraints have to be strictly met are called hard real time systems. Real time systems are also extensively used in process control when time critical task has to be carried out. The system in which the real time constraint is not critical is soft real time systems.

3.2 REQUIREMENS OF EMBEDDED SYSTEM
Reliability
Embedded systems have to work without the need for rebooting or resetting typical of many des top systems. If for example the embedded systems comes to a halt because of a hardware error the system should reset itself without the need for human intervention. Certainly reliability is critical in any system but we are used to resetting our des top systems once in a while.
Cost Effectiveness
If an embedded system is designed for a very special purpose such as for a deep space probe, or for use in a nuclear plant, cost may not be an issue. But as for as in CD players, toys and mobile phones, cost is a major consideration. The designers will develop an application specific integrated circuit or an application specific microprocessor to reduce hardware components and hence the cost.
Low Power Consumption
Many embedded systems are powered by battery rather than the mains supply. For example by reducing the number of hardware components or by designing the processor to revert to low power or sleep mode when there is no operation to be performed.
Efficient Use of Processing Power
A wide variety of processors with various processing powers are available to embedded systems. Developers must keep processing power memory and cost in mind when choosing the right processor. The processor may be a microcontroller, microprocessor or a digital signal processor.
Efficient Use of Memory
The memory chip available on embedded systems is read only memory to hold programs and random access memory to hold the data. As most embedded systems do not have secondary storage flash memory is used to store the program including the operating system. Microcontroller and DSP comes with on board memory is used for small embedded systems as the cost generally is low and execution generally is fast.
Appropriate Execution Time
In real time embedded systems certain tasks must be performed within specified time. Normally des top PC’s cannot achieve a real time performance therefore special OS called RTOS run on embedded systems. In hard real time systems which are subject to very strict dead lines for performing specific tasks. The timing analysis is of great importance. That software is generally developed in high level language some computation-intensive positions of the code may need to be written in assembly language in order for the desired real time performance to be realized.
3.3 APPLICATIONS OF EMBEDDED SYSTEM
The applications for embedded systems are truly limitless. Here are just a few of the many ways in which they can be used
· Point-of-sale systems, such as cash register applications.
· Special-purpose terminals, such as a dedicated financial terminal used by a bank teller or trader, a dedicated inventory-control terminal used in an auto parts shop, or a pen-based tablets used by an accountant representative.
· Telecommunications applications, from switching equipment to “smart” telephone that guide the user through complex tasks.
· Medical systems, such as ultrasound equipment, patient monitors, medical imaging equipment and blood analyzers.
· Industrial controls, such as robotics, equipment monitors and production line controls.
· Test and measurement instrumentation, including oscilloscopes, spectral analyzers and automobile analysis equipment.
· Information / interactive kiosks located in malls, airports, and other high-traffic locations.
· Gaming machines for gambling and gaming purpose.

3.4 BENEFITS OF EMBEDDED SYSTEM

Compatible Development Tools
Whether you choose to work with leading-edge products such as Microsoft Visual Basic programming system and Microsoft Visual C++
development system, or with any of a wide range of third-party products, you’ll find more tools, better tools, and more cost-effective tools available for Microsoft operating systems that for any other platform.



Standard APIs
Microsoft operating systems support standard application programming interfaces that make it faster and easier to develop new applications.
Compatible Peripherals
If your dedicated system needs to connect to such peripherals devices as modems, RF devices, pointing devices, or network cards, you’ll have a wide range of compatible peripherals to choose from.
Networking
Often, a dedicated system needs to be able to communicate with other computerized systems, whether another system of the same type, a host computer that controls the operations of multiple dedicated systems, or a database system that collects data gathered by the dedicated system.
Minimal Support Costs
It’s is easy to find both developers and support staff who knows Microsoft operating systems. That means there’s no learning curve or delays while your people become familiar with the product. Using a well known, non-proprietary operating system also saves you and your customers’ money by eliminating the need to train and maintain a dedicated group of developers and support engineers.
Upgradeability
Microsoft regularly updates its operating systems with new features. When you design with Microsoft operating systems, you’ll be able to enhance your products by taking advantage of new features in the latest release of the operating system.
Continuity
Microsoft also continues to license older versions of its operating systems so if you have a system that works just fine, you’ll be able to continue to license the same version you started with. In fact, you can license any version of any operating system from MS-DOS 3.22 on.
Short Time to Market
With the ability to use industry-standard development tools and off-the-shelf motherboards and peripherals, you’ll be able to put a dedicated system together in record time.



CHAPTER 4
8051 - MICROCONTROLLER

Introduction, basics, pin diagram, features and architectures etc.
Refer : Microcontroller based projects in this website (other blogs - projects)



CHAPTER 5
CIRCUIT DIAGRAM




TRANSMITTER SECTION -I









TRANSMITTER SECTION -II









Receiver Section I









Receiver Section II









Power Supply:















CHAPTER 6
OPERATION
The operation of the project can be explained under the following modules:
o Energy Meter Reading Module
o Transmitter and Receiver Module
o Server Database Module



6.1 ENERGY METER READING MODULE In this module the digital energy meter, an electronic device is connected to the microcontroller’s 14th pin through an optocoupler. The optocoupler with an LED and a transistor isolates the high voltage side from the low voltage mC side. Under normal condition the pulses are applied to the base of the transistor which conducts and sends signals to the microcontroller for each pulse of electricity consumed by the user. In the case of a short circuit or fault conditions, the diode breaks down and prevents the mC from getting burnt. 8051 has an on chip ROM and the program is stored in this memory. 8051 is programmed to take of the energy meter pulses at regular intervals. A reset pin is used to refresh the memory of the microcontroller. The Data Bit Control pin is used to enable the transmit of data. An external crystal oscillator is coupled to the mC for activating it. The mC can communicate with the RTC and the EEPROM. In actual practice 1280 pulses from the energy meter make up a unit. But for demo purpose we have accounted 5 pulses as a unit. The timer inside the microcontroller is set for a period of 2 months for actual installations but in our practical demo we have set a period of 1 minute. An EEPROM is provided for recording the unit count as the data of the count stored in the microcontroller vanishes off in the case of a power failure. A Real Time Clock (RTC) keeps track of the days count. In the case of a power failure an external back up battery is provided to maintain the count of the RTC. The process of sending data at regular intervals is programmed in the timer module.
6.2 TRANSMITTER AND RECEIVER MODULE The data to be sent to the EB office is encoded using an 8bit encoder and transmitted using wireless mode of communication at a carrier frequency of 433.92MHz.The wireless mode of communication involves wireless transmitter in the client side along with the wireless receiver in the server side. The data to the server is not sent continuously but periodically by using the concept of timer in 8051. An LED is used to indicate the reception of unpacked pulses. The received data is decoded using an 8 bit decoder. The decoder is connected to the receiver circuit through a connector. We use transistor switching for matching the address. The decoded data is given to the microcontroller which is interfaced with a PC through a serial port. A voltage level conversion device namely MAX232 is used for serial communication.
6.3 SERVER DATABASE MODULE The received data is transferred to the data base and manipulated using suitable software. The easier comprehensions, user friendliness faster application made us choose Visual Basic 6.0. The received data consists of a unique meter id, month and number of units consumed by the user. With the help of the meter id the database of the relevant consumer can be obtained. The total amount to be paid by the consumer is calculated and we have provisions for printing the bill similar to our telephone bills and sending it to the consumers.
CHAPTER 8
CONCLUSION

The automation of the existing power tariff monitoring system is the advantage of he higher levels of technology and endless list of possibilities for electronics design. The efficient embedded system with wireless technologies develops a new way to replace the existing wired communication with wireless communication in microcontroller in portable wireless designs.

It would be a great boon to the existing system that rectifies many problems and difficulties prevailing in reality.
REFERENCES


1. “Microprocessor Interfacing Techniques”, Douglas V Hall, Tata McGraw Hill edition, 2003.
2. “Programming Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0”, Francesco Bealena, WP publishers and Distributors Pvt. Ltd,2003.
3. “Digital Electronics- An Introduction, Theory & practice”, W.H.Gothmann, Prentice Hall of India Pvt Ltd., New Delhi, 2001.
4. “The 8051 Microcontroller Architecture, Programming & Applications”, Kenneth J. Ayala, Penram International Publishing (India) Pvt Ltd., 1996.
5. “The 8051 Microcontroller and Embedded systems”, Muhammad Ali Mazidi, Janice Gillispie Mazidi, Pearson Education Inc, 2005.
6. “Electronic Devices and Circuits”, G.K.Mithal, Khanna Publishers,2001
7. “The complete Reference Visual Basic 6.0”,Noel Jerke,Tata McGraw Hill Publishing Company Ltd,New Delhi,2003.
8. “Microprocessor architecture Programming and Applications”, Ramesh S.Goankar, Penram International (India), 1997.
9. “Electronic & Radio Engineering”, F.E.Terman, Tata McGraw Hill Book Company Inc, 1985.
10. “Electrical Technology Vol II”, B.L. Theraja, A.K.Theraja, S.Chand & Company Ltd, 2000.

1 comment:

Charmaz said...

The system is pure Theory here. Practicality is close to nil.

Energy meters have a few options of transmitting data to the central server.
1. GSM/CDMA
2. PLCC
3. RF

Primary disadvantage with each system is they are very very expensive.
so when you are talking about a per capita consumption of 2$ per month of electricity it is senseless to install a electricity meter system which costs around 30$.
Lets assume cost won't be an issue. Then there is no network which will support 50 million extra connections GSM/CDMA connecting to them trying to upload data. PLCC is simply to complicated and don't transmit beyond the first transformers. The repeater network along with local server systems makes it almost impossible to achieve.
RF - expensive and very bulky very antennas would be required to transmit data. its not as simple as a cellphone antenna system which has to transmit to the next tower.