IoT Based Smart Power and Load Management System

Abstract

The escalating electricity demand in Pakistan and other developing nations presents significant challenges for distribution systems. To address this issue, utilities often resort to load shedding practices. However, despite urging consumers to reduce their load during peak hours through monthly bill notifications, compliance remains low due to either unwillingness or lack of awareness. The manual process of reminding consumers about peak hours and manually managing high loads during peak and off-peak periods is both inconvenient and laborious. In response to these challenges, this study focuses on implementing a time-controlled automated load management system. The primary objective is to enable automatic switching ON/OFF of various consumer loads at specific intervals. This system eliminates the need for manual load switching based on time, while also providing control and monitoring capabilities for electrical devices using the Internet of Things (IoT) concept. The implementation utilizes an ESP-32 device based on the Blynk framework, integrating sensors and smartphones to create a functional prototype. Through the Blynk framework-installed smartphones, users can interact with the system's server, which responds to their requests. Our development efforts have resulted in an IoT-based load management system, empowering users to utilize their electrical load at full capacity during normal hours. However, during peak hours, load consumption is automatically restricted through IoT technology. The IoT application facilitates wireless monitoring and control of the load, enhancing convenience and efficiency.