International Journal of Advanced Research in Computer Science and Software Engineering

Research Paper Available online at: www.ijarcsse.com

Volume 2, Issue 7, July 2012

ISSN: 2277 128X

Hybrid Automatic Meter Reading System

S.Arun1 Research Scholar CMJ University, Shilliong, India Dr, Sidappa Naidu2 , Principal Veltech Multitech Engineering College, Chennai, India

Abstract: In this paper we have proposed automatic power meter reading system using GSM and ZigBee communication .the electric board used conventional method, by sending meter-readers on monthly basis to do meter reading from meters installed at their customers premises. Automatic meter reading have been used by different media such as radio, power lines and telephones lines. Nowadays, the system will use ZigBee and GSM through GPRS system for communication protocol. The ZigBee is used since the application dont need high speed data rate, need to be low powered and low cost. For frequency, 2.4 GHz band will be used. Each ZigBee node will be connected to the collector node and from collector node the data will be sent to the central computer by using GSM through GPRS.GSM network with its vast coverage in most countries and also its competitive ever growing market, is becoming popular as a medium for machine to machine applications which utilize the GSM network to send its power usage reading using short message service back to the energy provider wirelessly. At the power provider side the central server is used to manage all received SMS meter reading, compute the billing cost, update the database and to publish billing notification to its respective consumer through SMS, Email, Web portal and printed postage mailing With this system can save cost in doing meter reading and provide better services to their customers.

Keywords: AMR, Zigbee, GPRS/GSM 1. Introduction There are three key elements in an automatic meter reading (AMR) system: consumption measurement, meter reading and data transmission, and data processing and billing. An AMR system has to be cost-effective. That means reducing the costs of implementation, maintenance, while providing robust and reliable performance. On top of that, the relationship between the customer and the supplier must be considered. Wireless sensor networks bring advantages in the form of lowering the cost of sensor installation. Lowering the cost is achieved by avoiding the need for cabling, materials and testing which all raise the costs of labor. Secondly, 'the last meter connectivity problem' cable connectors getting loose, lost, misconnected or broken - is no longer an issue. Wireless automatic meter reading system presented in this text - comprised of a meters with ZigBee radio on one side and database management system on the other side takes into account all of the previously mentioned issues. Therewithal, certain specific demands and constraints have to be taken into consideration to provide an effective solution both for the consumer and the supplier, including long battery lifetime, signal range, packet latency, ease of installation and maintenance. The benefits of using ZigBee technology in development of the wireless automatic Power meter reading system set forth in further ext concern the very same issues: battery

lifetime is extended using well defined beacon timings, wider range is gained with the appropriate network topology, the network parameters are adequately preset to avoid greater depths and high packet latency, and last but not least, the ease of installation and maintenance is achieved by avoiding cabling and by applying algorithms for quick error spotting and debugging. 2.Archeitecture of AMR Meter Reading System
2.1 AMR system

The AMR module will be having digital meter analog meter , microcontroller and zigbee module. The output from the digital meter will be pulse .All the datas will be stored in the temporary storage buffer.The microcontroller will be programmed such that for once in every thirty days the data ,ie meter readings will be sent to the zigbee module. The power source will be operated by the Li battery of 5 volts. The AMR system will be in Sleep mode . once in thirty days the module will transmit the reading through the antenna ie Transreciever. The antenna used in the module is microstrip antenna. The fig shows the AMR module 2.2Base Station Unit The datas which is transmitted from the AMR module will be received in the base station unit . the Base station

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unit will be consists of a zigbee module attached with a Transceiver microstrip antenna , microcontroller and GSM modem. The datas will be collected in the base

station unit from each and every node. The frequency of communication will be in 900 MHZ. the datas will transmitted to the central station.

Fig1.3 Central Unit

Fig 1.1 AMR system

fig fig. 1.2 Base station

2.3.Architecture of hybrid AMR system

Fig1.4 Archeitecture of AMR system

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2.3.1 The Digital Meter Design Design Assumption Following assumptions are made in the meter design: I. The meter should satisfy power systems requirements. It runs with 230V/50Hz supply. II. The designed meter had a single-phase system mainly due to the budget allocation. Nevertheless, the theory of implementing a three-phase is identical to a single-phase wireless automatic meter-reading system. III. The meter can handle maximum current of 60 A 3. Digital Meter Implementation The meter is constructed using off the shelf components such as evaluation board (MCP3905A), a Microcontroller (PIC16F84A), and LCD (16*2). The evaluation board is used to calculate the power by sensing the load that is connected to it. The PIC microcontroller is used to accumulate the consumed energy by saving the readings in the memory of the microcontroller. The LCD will display the reading in two lines. The MCP390 Evaluation Board The MCP3905 evaluation board was used to build Microcontroller-based digital energy meter. The MCP3905EV includes only the MCP3905 IC with jumpers to configure its inputs. The two prototype area, input and output, are left to the user to be designed according to the user requirements. Regarding the input prototype area, a current-sensing element, such as shunt resister, has to be installed with the proper AC line and load connection to it. The shunt resistor is used to monitor the current in a circuit and translate the amount of current in that circuit into a voltage that can be easily measured and monitored. The PIC Microcontroller The PIC16F84A microcontroller is used in building the meter. PIC16F84A has 18-pin Enhanced Flash/EEPROM (8-BIT) and belongs to the mid-range family of the PICmicro microcontroller devices. The microcontroller is used to store the ID number of the subscriber and also is used to continuously monitor the instantaneous Watt-Hour (WH) reading and calculate the accumulated KWH and store it in its EPROM. Therefore, a controlling program is needed to perform these tasks. The flow chart of the controlling program. 3.3 Transmission Facility There are many different forms of communication links that can be utilized as the communication medium in an AMR system. GSM network, with its vast coverage in most countries, and also its competitive ever-growing market, is becoming the main medium for the machine-tomachine applications, and AMR is not an exception. In this research the meter ID and its reading (KWH) are sent to a central server using General Packet Radio Service 2012, IJARCSSE All Rights Reserved

(GPRS) technology. GRPS is the technology used the GSM network to connect mobile to the Internet. The communication is done using GM862 cellular Quad band module and Quad-band wired Cellular Antenna SMA. GM862 Cellular Quad Band Module The GM862-QUAD modules are a product family that is easy-to-integrate GSM/GPRS modules for all industrial M2M applications. The GSM modem has quad band cellular capabilities (850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900MHz frequencies). GSM modules can be controlled via AT commands according to GSM 07.05, 07.07 and Telit Enhanced. It has an on board SIM holder to place the SIM card and also it has GSM antenna. Quad-band Wired Cellular Antenna A Quad-band antenna for embedded cellular devices is used to allow customer to connect his cellular module to the outside world. Operates on four frequencies and Comes with a 3M adhesive backing for mounting. Security Security is an important part of the data transmission process [8], [9]. GSM has a built in transport layer encryption, which is supported by most network providers. However, this encryption is commonly not used all the way, but only for radio transmission. As soon as the cable-bound GSM backbone is used, data is transmitted unencrypted. GPRS offers a number of security enhancements over existing GSM security. The standards themselves also offer technical features, which a network operator may choose to use. Aside of that, a different form of security might be desired in addition to the provided transport layer security. The key issue here is the distribution of keys between clients and data acquisition systems. It shall also be possible that different users such as utility companies and service providers use data originating from one cellular phone. The users shall not be able to read data that are not intended for them. This results in a sophisticated user structure that has to be reflected, for example, by having different keys available to communicate with different users. 3.4 The Billing Server The collected power consumption reading is sent to the central billing server where it is stored. Many commercial servers as well as management software are available in the market. However the cost of such server and software management system are very expensive. To decrease the cost of the proposed AMR system, in-house software is developed using ASP.net and is used to control the central server. The implemented meter data management system will have the following functions: a) Remote metering: The meter reading is sent automatically to the server and customers can remotely get their consumption at any time. b) Bill issuing: The billing system shall provide monthly bill for customer who does not remotely access the server.

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c) Customer tracking: The billing should include better customer tracking, bill forwarding, identification of customer financial accounts information, and use of monetary deposits for account closing requirements.

4. CONCLUSIONS Automatic Meter Reading is a challenging step for the Provincial Electricity Authority to take as it brings benefits to both customers and the organization itself and at the same time it is not easy to implement even though many AMR systems have been successfully implemented and proven worldwide. There are few important issues to be considered which include where, when and how the technology will be deployed. Finding one best solution may be very difficult as the technology changes every day and it requires large amount of investment. Power Line Communication may be the least expensive AMR alternative but it requires a modification to a meter and it is cumbersome with a distribution system that has many transformers and electricity phases and that may cause a reading data to lose. ZigBee is a wireless communication technology that uses small, low-power digital radios based on the IEEE 802.15.4 standard for wireless personal area networks (WPANs). It was initially developed for wireless control applications and has just been recently successfully developed for remote metering applications and become another competent alternative for automatic meter reading. From the study, total immediate investment costs for a pilot ZigBee-based AMR project are more than 20 million considered very high and not attractive enough comparing to the saving that PEA would gain annually. But if PEA invests in the near future, when prices of ZigBee equipments are less expensive, total investment cost will decrease and the investment will be much more attractive while the technology will still be relevant for PEAs need. Additionally, if unbilled revenue and intangible benefits were taken into considerations, the investment would yield a greater return. The Same concept of AMR can be extended to Wireless Sensor network domain and also with optical networks. For the application with Optical networks, we can have dedicated link as well as Bandwidth sharing applications. Since the networks are all in the verge of 4G the AMR will be most successful in all ways.

Engineering, Vol. 15, No. 6, pp. 10-14, December/January 2004/05. [3] C. Jgerlind, Improvements for the automatic met er reading process in electricity distribution companies, Master Thesis, Dep. Industrial Info and Control Systems, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden 2006. [4] C. Nunn, P. Moore, & P. Williams Remote meter reading and control using high- performance plc communication over the low voltage and medium voltage distribution networks, in 7th International Conference on Metering Apparatus and Tariffs for Electricity Supply , 1992, pp. 304-308. [5] J. Tsoi, Device management of largescale amr systems, MSc thesis, Dep. of Industrial Information and Control Systems, Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm (KTH), Stockholm, Sweden 2006. [6] L. Cao, J. Tian, and Y. Liu , Remote wireless automatic meter reading system based on wireless mesh networks and embedded technology, Fifth IEEE International Symposium on Embedded Computing, 2008. SEC '08, Oct, 2008, pp. 192 197. [7] M. Baker, Added value services through the use of amr in commercial and industrial accounts, Conference on Metering and Tariffs for Energy Supply, 25-28 May 1999, pp. 210-212. [8] M. Venables, Smart meters make smart consumers, IET Engineering and Technology, Vol. 2, No. 4, p.23, April 2007. [9] Wikipedia Page (22/9/2010) [Online] available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automatic_meter_reading [10] T. Whittaker, Final word, IET Control and Automation, Vol. 18, No. 3, p. 48, June/July 2007. [11] P. Palensky and Ge. Pratl, Secure and scalable automated meter reading, Domestic Use of Energy Conference 2003, pp. 233-236

REFERENCES
[1] A. Abdollahi, M. Dehghani, and N. Zamanzadeh , SMS-based reconfigurable automatic meter reading system, IEEE International Conference on Control Applications (CCA 2007), Oct, 2007, pp. 1103 1107. [2] C. Brasek, Urban utilities warm up to the idea of wireless meter reading, The IEE Computing and Control 2012, IJARCSSE All Rights Reserved

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