IoT-based Electrical Power Recording using ESP32 and PZEM-004T Microcontrollers

Abstract

The electricity usage recording system in Indonesia still uses conventional kWh meters. Electricity usage is recorded by officers who visit customers' homes every month. This results in the electricity company having to provide employees who become a burden on the company's costs. Technological advances enable convergence between communication channels and various things. A technology known as the Internet of Things (IoT) allows customer kWh meters to be recorded in real-time. This research aims to create an Internet of Things (IoT)-based kWh meter that can make it easier for electricity companies to monitor each customer's electricity usage. The IoT kWh meter created can be monitored and controlled from a remote location in real-time. If there is a change in load usage, it will be monitored directly via a mobile device because the kWh meter is directly connected to the internet network and cloud server. To determine the functionality of the tool being made, several tests were carried out, such as a) sensor testing, b) LED indicator, buzzer, and relay testing, c) OLED display testing, d) Firebase database testing, and e) load testing. The test results obtained are used to calculate the error of the tool made with a comparator, and the results show that the percentage of voltage error with different loads is very small, namely 0.35% and 1.45%. This research produced a prototype using ESP32 and PZEM-004T, which is so accurate that it is recommended for recording electrical power, which can reduce the burden on operational costs for electricity companies.