PowerBox for Measuring and Controlling Power Parameters

The project has been designed to measure and graph various aspects of AC power in real time while acting as a computer-controlled remote switch.

The device was based on a microcontroller for measuring AC power where the user has the ability to insert the device between the wall socket and the device under test to measure the amount of AC power being used. The C# application can be used with this device to monitor the energy usage with real time graphs and data display. The parameters that are being reported and calculated in real time includes real power, energy usage in Kilowatt-Hours, frequency, RMS current, RMS voltage, power factor, and apparent power.

The device is placed between the mains line and the device under test while the current measurements occur on the neutral line. The AC live line switches ON the relay while the voltage is stepped down to the correct levels by a voltage divider. Before reaching the MCU, all signals are optically isolated.

The hardware section handles the voltage levels for the appropriate range while the software section handles the voltage levels to perform the appropriate real time calculations.

Rest of the project