Prepaid Energy Meter Using GSM Module

The medieval approach for depositing bills has a number of disadvantages to it, for instance, the number of working hours and labor it consumes. To counter all those problems and to increase the efficiency of our system. The Prepaid Electrical Energy Meter using Arduino and GSM Module can be used in

Project Title

Prepaid Energy Meter Using GSM Module

Project Area of Specialization

Shared Economy

Project Summary

The medieval approach for depositing bills has a number of disadvantages to it, for instance, the number of working hours and labor it consumes. To counter all those problems and to increase the efficiency of our system. The Prepaid Electrical Energy Meter using Arduino and GSM Module can be used instead of our typical electricity meters.The simple idea behind prepaid energy meter is based on paying up first and then using electricity. The proposed energy meter will consist of a smart meter and a sim which will be used to recharge and get the value of the number of units consumed by the consumer. The prepaid meter will use a recharge card whose cost will solely depend on the usage of the units of electricity, the daily usage of units and energy will also be easier to calculate. A relay system is used to cut off or shut down the smart meter and respective load through main supply as soon as the recharged amount reaches to zero. This process will also help rid the society of the great evil that electricity theft is as now we have to pay first and accordingly use electricity. The idea is to help manage our electricity bills and accordingly consume our electricity, this can also help reduce of usage of electricity. This kind of meter is being developed and it will prove to be reliable, stable and will cut down the labor costs hence cost efficient.

Project Objectives

The current billing system has a lot of problems which include the problem of collecting the payment from the consumers, energy theft, errors in reading units etc. these and many other reasons tells us that the current billing system is slow, costly and can also be sometimes unreliable. These may occur due to problems with the meter readers, due to the absence of owners at their homes whenever the electricity bill reader comes and due to an error in reading the units. This all is a long lengthy process which has a higher probability of problem and/or error.

Here, we will talk about how digitizing this process through the introduction of Prepaid Energy Meters can save us time, money and in the long run, can help us manage our electricity better. The concept is simple you can recharge the electricity meter just by using your cell phones. In this project, we are constructing an automated and digital electric meter by addition of Arduino and GSM Module to the typical electricity meter. A relay system is used to shut down or cut off the power supply when the recharge amount depletes and an indication in form of a bell sound rings before that happens.

The proposed system is highly deserved for nation implementation as it enhances and supports the concept of digital Pakistan and thus making the country digitally empowered in the field of technology.

Project Implementation Method

Prepaid energy meter is concerned with the automation of the electric billing system, the accurate readings can be calculated using a programmed microcontroller. The energy meter is connected with the microcontroller using an Optocoupler. An Optocoupler will detect the pulses from the energy meter and will convert these pulses into electrical signals which will act as clock pulses for the microcontroller. As 3200 pulses is equivalent to 1 unit in reality but for convenience let us that say 10 pulses as equivalent to 1 unit. Based on these pulses the Arduino is able to automatically generate consumed unit and cost. An LCD is connected with the microcontroller that will show us the consumed units and the cost that occur. At the end of the month the data is shared with the service provider in this case that will be WAPDA though internet and a SMS is sent to the consumer about the number of units consumed, who can then accordingly recharge their energy meter, through GSM. The energy meter and the GSM can be connected to the internet by using the Ethernet shield on the Arduino board. All the data can be stored in a database with the service provider and can automatically monthly updated. When the energy consumption is more than the normal value or the threshold value the heavy loads can be automatically tripped off using relays this will help in control the consumption of the energy and controlling the cost of electricity. A GSM can also send an SMS to the consumer if the energy consumption reaches the threshold value so the consumer can deal accordingly with it.

The electrical energy meter is linked with Arduino by using the LED of the electric meter. The LED fine adjustment is connected to Arduino via an Optocoupler. When the prepaid electricity meter is derived by the power supply the Arduino will examine the past amount of capital stored in EPROM and re-establish them into variables and then it checks the amount of available balance and also a predefined value and opts steps in consonance to it. If the amount of balance is more than a certain value then the Arduino will activate the power with the help of the relay, and if the amount is less than that certain value then Arduino will delivers a SMS to consumer telling them to recharge as soon as possible and in accordance to that will cut the power supply again with the help of the relay.

Benefits of the Project

By using this prepaid energy meter, for the consumers who are using the electricity it will be mandatory for them to pay the amount of money before consuming the electricity. In this way, the power companies need not to run after the customers or issue them warnings time and again to pay the bills. It will save the time and money of the power companies in a way that they will need not to print the bills and hire a labor to note down the amount of units consumed by each house or any load area. The whole responsibility will be of the consumers to pay their bill first if they have to use the electricity. In this way the consumers will also pay attention to save the electricity as they are paying before using. They will purchase the units according to their need.

Sometimes, wrong amount of units are noted down which causes a hectic situation as it is a manual system where errors can occur. But in case of prepaid energy meter, units are calculated automatically by the microcontroller.

Technical Details of Final Deliverable

In this project, we have designed a prepaid energy meter using GSM and ARDUINO. It works on the basic principle of first buying the desired amount of energy units by using the GSM module. The consumer has to send a message by using * and # with the amount written in between, the amount will then be converted into the energy units and then the consumer can use the units according to the paid amount. Once the amount reaches a certain minimum level the power supply of the house or any other area where that prepaid energy meter is used, will be cut off. 

As the prepaid energy meter starts by supplying 240 V AC to it, the load turns ON. A message will be shown on LCD about the system initialization and a message will be sent to the consumer that the “SYSTEM INITIALIZED” by GSM. Then a user will recharge the balance and the consumer will get a message that your meter is recharged. The meter is recharged by the users according to their needs. And if user wants to know about the remaining balance or amount of units that are consumed and also remaining number of units then LCD can be observed as these details are displayed on LCD. And if the balance reaches the minimum amount i-e 10 rupees, then a message will be sent to the user “YOUR BALANCE IS LOW, RECHARGE IT SOON”. And if the balance is less than 10 rupees then power supply will be cut off.

Final Deliverable of the Project

Hardware System

Type of Industry

Energy

Technologies

Shared Economy

Sustainable Development Goals

Decent Work and Economic Growth

Required Resources

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