EnergiLink: A next-gen energy interface with smart, intuitive control

Abstract

Due to increasing demand for electricity, more intelligent and transparent energy management systems are becoming necessary. The traditional method of using electric meters lacks many features including real-time monitoring; therefore, it cannot provide real-time visibility into energy consumption or automatically bill consumers for their usage. This has resulted in significant operational inefficiencies, as well as a lack of awareness among customers about how they are consuming electricity. An IoT-based smart energy metering system with the the ability to monitor energy use in real time, automatically bill customers, and remotely control loads is proposed in this paper. The system combines an HLW8012 energy meter IC with an ESP32 microcontroller to measure RMS voltage, RMS current, active power and total energy consumed; these data are then transmitted via Wi-Fi to a Firebase Cloud database so they can be synchronized in real time. A web-based administrative dashboard provides centralised monitoring of usage and management of tariffs, whereas a mobile app allows consumers to monitor and pay for their electricity consumption via an electronic wallet. With a 30A relay rating, the load can automatically be turned off when there is no longer enough credit in the user’s account to continue service. As a result, this proposed solution is a scalable and practical way to manage energy in residential properties.