SMART AVR

(Automatic Voltage Regulator

with Wattmeter)
using Arduino for real-time
energy monitoring of appliances
Researcher: Jhon Romel P. Roldan 13-0100

University of Southern Mindanao Kidapawan City

Campus

Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering

Adviser: Engr. Jeffrey Gorre

Chapter I
Introduction
Electricity is now an important part of homes & industries. Almost whole the devices
at homes, businesses and industries are running because of electricity
(Rallison,2017).
Philippine power rates remain one of the highest in Southeast Asia as of end-2016
due to continued lack of government subsidies. Based on the Power Development
Plan 2017 to 2040 released yesterday, the country’s power rates are among the
highest in the region, at par with the level in Singapore. In terms of electricity rates to
industries, both countries have rates of P5.84 per kilowatt-hour (kwh). But in terms of
commercial and household rates, the Philippines has the highest at P7.49 per kwh
and P8.90 per kwh, respectively (DOE,2017).
The irregular power supply during the brownout can ruin your computer and other
electronic devices. Electronics are created to operate at specific voltages, so any
fluctuations in power (both up and down) can damage them. Those fluctuations can
also harm your electronic devices (Energy Today,2015).
The cost of electricity consumption can be minimize or lessened if we can track our
energy consumption of some of our appliances that consumes large amount of
electricity and save them from energy fluctuations. This study was made to help
energy consumers keep track of their energy consumption.

The Significance of Study

This study is beneficial to the owner of the device in terms of monitoring power
consumption of their appliances and preventing them from damage caused by
fluctuations of power. It is portable enough that the owner can easily carry it
anywhere. And the owner can read the real time power consumption that he/she
plugged on it.

Objective of the Study

This study aimed to design, program and produce Smart AVR with wattmeter using
Arduino.

Research Questions
1. What are the features of Smart AVR?
2. Is the Smart AVR can be reliable in terms of saving electricity?
3. How can Smart AVR help the appliances of its owner?
Hypothesis
1. Smart AVR is composed of an Automatic Voltage Regulator, LCD display of
voltage and real time power consumption of the appliance plugged on it.
2. Yes, because it is an Arduino based wattmeter and the user can see the real
time power consumption on the LCD display.
3. Smart AVR can prevent power fluctuations that can damage an appliance.

Definition of Terms
Electricity- a form of energy resulting from the existence of charged particles
(such as electrons or protons), either statically as an accumulation of
charge or dynamically as a current.
Par- refers to the face value of a stock or other security, as distinct from its
market value.
Subsidies- a sum of money granted by the government or a public body to
assist an industry or business so that the price of a commodity or service
may remain low or competitive.
Fluctuation- an irregular rising and falling in number or amount; a variation.
Brownout- a reduction in or restriction on the availability of electrical power in a
particular area.
Chapter II
Review of Related Literature

Digital Wattmeter
Digital Wattmeter measure current and voltage electronically thousands of times a
second, multiplying the results in a computer chip to determine watts. The computer
can also perform statistics such as peak, average, low watts and kilowatt-hours
consumed. They can monitor the power line for voltage surges and outages. In 2009,
a variety of inexpensive digital Wattmeter are available to consumers. With the falling
price and improved capabilities of digital electronics, they have become popular for
conveniently measuring power consumption in household appliances with an eye
toward saving energy and money (John Papiewski; 2017).
Digital Wattmeter have become available for home use and are capable of providing
users with information that is far superior to that which was provided by the
wattmeter of professionals only twenty years ago. Instead of a very imprecise needle
display, a digital wattmeter measures the current which is passing through its cables
at a thousand times a second, measuring every small change, and providing an
average which is the true power supply (Casey Reader; 2017).

Automatic Voltage Regulator

Automatic voltage regulators consist of two units which are

the measuring unit and the regulating unit. The function of
the measuring unit is to detect a change in the input or output voltage of the
automatic voltage regulator and producing a signal to operate the regulating unit.
The purpose of the regulating unit is to act under the signal from the measuring unit
in such a manner as to correct the output voltage of the regulator to a predetermined
value. In some cases, a unit is required to control the regulating unit and this
additional unit is needed which is known as the controlling unit. It is sometimes
necessary to introduce another unit in order to prevent hunting. In all measuring
units used in automatic voltage regulators, there is a reference voltage with which
the input voltage is compared.
The automatic voltage regulator or stabilizer is fully
automatic which gives protection to the valuable electronic equipment from high
voltage. Due to the unstable nature of the power system the variation of supply
voltage causes mal-operation of different electrical and electronic
equipment. Generally, the voltage regulation range of the
stabilizer is 170 to 270𝑉 but sometimes the voltage level comes down to 150𝑉 and
goes up to 300𝑉 which is undesirable for the overall system. The maximum voltage
variation level in any system is considered in designing the
𝐴𝑉𝑅 (International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research, Volume 5, Issue 12,
December-2014 1020).

Arduino Module
Arduino is an open-source electronics platform based on easy-to-use hardware and
software. Arduino boards can read inputs - light on a sensor, a finger on a button, or
a Twitter message - and turn it into an output - activating a motor, turning on an LED,
publishing something online. Arduino board designs use a variety of microprocessors
and controllers. The boards are equipped with sets of digital and analog input/output
(I/O) pins that may be interfaced to various expansion boards (shields) and other
circuits. The boards feature serial communications interfaces, including Universal
Serial Bus (USB) on some models, which are also used for loading programs from
personal computers. The microcontrollers are typically programmed using a dialect
of features from the programming languages C and C++ (Monk, 2013).

Theoretical framework
The conceptualization of the project started with input which consist of ideas,
references, tools, supplies. Then followed by throughput consist of planning,
designing, producing, testing, and revising in case of failure of operation. The output
of the study is the Smart AVR using Arduino.

INPUT THROUGHPUT
OUTPUT

 Planning Smart AVR

 Ideas
 Designing
 References
 Producing
using
 Tools
 Testing Arduino
 Supplies
 Revising
Chapter III
Methodology
This chapter features the methods involved in the designing and producing of the
project.

Methods and Techniques

The process of making Smart AVR using Arduino follows different steps;
Design Procedure

1. The frame cover for Arduino with LCD attached is prepared.

2. The electronic parts for the design is prepared.
3. The programming procedure for Arduino UNO is prepared.
Bibliography

John Papiewski – How Does a Wattmeter Work? (https://sciencing.com/wattmeter-

work-5030222.html)
By Casey Reader; Updated August 07, 2017-Types of
Wattmeters(https://sciencing.com/list-6904351-types-wattmeters.html)
International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research, Volume 5, Issue 12,
December-2014 1020.