Wi-Fi and LoRaWAN based interactive control system for household energy management

Households currently account for around 25-30% of final energy consumption for developing and developed countries. The measures taken to mitigate any drastic increase in consumption patterns relate to energy efficiency programmes as well as behavioral changes. However, various surveys have concluded that consumers have little or no understanding of energy consumption units and thus they are not engaged with their energy use. The installation of household smart energy meters could provide one solution for the energy visibility of households. Unfortunately, these devices are very expensive and unaffordable for a large majority of families. With the emergence of low-cost microcontrollers and sensors, IoT-based smart meters can be implemented at a fraction of the cost of commercial ones, with most of their functionalities. In this paper, we present the design and implementation of a complete control system for household energy management, using two technologies- Wi-Fi for indoor use, and LoRaWAN for long distance transmission and outdoor use. An energy meter prototype was first built, and in-depth tests were carried out for two specific appliances, namely a table fan, which operates in the same state for long hours, and on the other hand, a washing machine, which continually changes states. Results are very conclusive and provide a high level of visibility on appliance energy consumption. It is believed that with access to such a meaningful level of data, consumer behaviour will change positively and their engagement will become more prominent for a reduction of energy consumption in the household sector.