Extracting the Full Potential of Voltage

Abstract

Smart meters allow us to track a variety of electrical parameters including voltage. Even though mains voltage is assumed to remain constant, it does vary, albeit within a small range, so the variation is mostly ignored. But we show how the small variations in voltage sensed at different points in the electrical system and the relative variations in voltage values at a certain location can be exploited for better disaggregation of appliance loads, differentiating between appliances, even of the same type, increasing the scope of disaggregation for performing tasks like sub-metering and fault localization. We believe that our solution is a highly practical and simpler alternative to the more involved techniques that require sophisticated algorithms and/or hardware. To top it all, the proposed technique is also general-purpose and cost-effective.