IoT-Based Smart Energy Meter with Real-Time Monitoring, Prepaid Billing and Tamper Detection

Author

Mali Prashant Mohan, Shruti Sunil Bunge and Dhanshri Shantaram Dhanwate

Abstract

 Conventional electromechanical energy meters need manual reading, give the consumer no visibility of usage and are easy to tamper with. This paper presents the design and simulation of a low-cost smart energy meter based on the ESP32 microcontroller and the PZEM-004T energy-monitoring module. The meter measures voltage, current, active power, power factor and energy in real time, calculates the bill with a slab tariff, supports prepaid operation with a remote-disconnect relay, and publishes data to a cloud dashboard over Wi-Fi using the MQTT protocol. A second current transformer on the neutral conductor allows bypass-type energy theft to be detected within 10 s. The measurement chain, a household load model and the billing logic are evaluated by simulation. The modelled power error stays within ±0.4% (1σ) for loads above 250 W, the daily energy error is 0.31% on average, and a 3.6 MWh/yr household is billed correctly under a four-slab tariff. The components cost about ₹2,550, which makes the design attractive for large-scale metering in developing regions.

Keywords

Smart energy meter, Internet of Things, ESP32, MQTT, prepaid metering, energy theft detection, PZEM-004T.

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References

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