Design and implementation of a smart home energy saving system by multi-microprocessors

This paper proposes a home electric energy saving network which consists of a smart meter and a smart plug. The smart meter can not only measure electric power parameters of a load also identify the operation status of a device which is connected to the smart plug. Therefore, the standby power consumption of the device can be reduced to the minimum through the electric energy management algorithm. Besides, real time electric energy consumption and standby power information will be delivered to the assigned user through the communication network of the smart meter; so, the reliability and the effectiveness of home electric energy management can be improved. For the hardware structure, the system includes digital signal processors (DSPs), a power energy IC, a smart plug and a communication module. Regarding software development, the system has the following functions: energy recording, standby power consumption management, electric billing, and power information collection. The system prototype is installed at a personal residence, and the performance is validated by the test results.