Electricity Submetering on the Cheap: Stick-on Electricity Meters

Conference · Sun Aug 17 00:00:00 EDT 2014

OSTI ID:1234542

Lanzisera, Steven; Lorek, Michael; Pister, Kristofer

We demonstrate a low-cost, 21 x 12 mm prototype Stick-on Electricity Meter (SEM) to replace traditional in-circuit-breaker-panel current and voltage sensors for building submetering. A SEM sensor is installed on the external face of a circuit breaker to generate voltage and current signals. This allows for the computation of real and apparent power as well as capturing harmonics created by non-linear loads. The prototype sensor is built using commercially available components, resulting in a production cost of under $10 per SEM. With no highvoltage install work requiring an electrician, home owners or other individuals can install the system in a few minutes with no safety implications. This leads to an installed system cost that is much lower than traditional submetering technology.. Measurement results from lab characterization as well as a real-world residential dwelling installation are presented, verifying the operation of our proposed SEM sensor. The SEM sensor can resolve breaker power levels below 10W, and it can be used to provide data for non-intrusive load monitoring systems at full sample rate.

• Research Organization: Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: Environmental Energy Technologies Division
• OSTI ID: 1234542
• Report Number(s): LBNL-186834; ir:186834
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English