thesis format

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Pamantasan ng Cabuyao

Laguna Philippines 4025

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WIRELESS ILLEGAL ELECTRICITY CONNECTION DETECTOR AND LOCATOR WITH SMS NOTIFICATION

A Design Project Proposal Presented to the College of Engineering

Pamantasan ng Cabuyao

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Science in Electronics Engineering

by

Bragais, Darren Mark M. Gendrano, John Philip D. Pilotos, Evaristo III P.

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Chapter 1

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

Introduction

One of the problems in electricity transmission and distribution is the system loss that mainly caused by the electricity pilferage. Electricity pilferage is an ongoing problem for every electricity providers as well to the customers. Most cases of electricity pilferage occur when violators physically alter the mechanisms inside their power meters or by tapping to the main power lines. The most basic method of stealing electricity is a direct wire-connection to a main power route passing by a house or shop so that electricity can flow to the consumer without crossing the electric meter installed by a governmental agency which is responsible for providing electrical services to costumer. Other methods may include opening the meter itself, without damaging its seals and reversing the dials, a complicated procedure that requires expert skill. There are various types of electrical power pilfering done in all over the world. The various types of electrical power pilfering are as follows:

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1. DIRECT HOOKING FROM LINE

Figure 1.1: Direct hooking from the line

It is the most used method for pilfering electricity. 80% of total power pilferage all over the world is done by direct tapping from line. The consumer taps into a direct power line from a point ahead of the energy meter. This energy source therefore is unmeasured in its consumption and procured with or without switches.

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2. BYPASSING THE ENERGY METER

Figure 1.2: Bypassing the energy meter

In this method, the input terminal and output terminal of the energy meter has been shorted by a wire. So energy cannot be registered in the energy meter.

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3. INJECTING FOREIGN ELEMENT INTO THE ENERGY METER

Figure 1.3: Injecting foreign element into the energy meter

Sometimes skilled individuals inject foreign elements such as transistors, resistors or IC chips into the electrical meter which causes a lower consumption of electricity. Also some meters are manipulated with a remote control circuit by installing the circuit inside the meter which can be operated remotely and the meter can be slowed down at any time consumer desires. If someone tests the meter for

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its accuracy by external inspection, it always found correct unless the remote is turned on.

4. DRILLING HOLES IN ELECTROMECHANICAL METER

Figure 1.4: Drilling hole in electromechanical meter

Drilling holes is a visible type of manipulating an electrical meter. This type of tampering is done to electromechanical types of meters. The individual inserts foreign material inside the meter to obstruct the free movement of the rotating disc.

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As the overall result, violators are not charged for the total number of kilowatt-hours actually used causing lost revenue for both utility or distributers and electricity providers. Mainly, electricity pilferage cause higher monthly bills for the consumers.

Background of the Study

Nowadays, electricity is more than a necessity. It is important to human life.

Electricity is the one responsible in running a vast number of machines that are part of our daily lives. Electricity is used mostly in four main areas: industry, public health, media and transportation. In the industry sector, electricity plays a significant role in running the machines that produce the foods we eat, the clothes we wear and other products that is essential to human life. In public health, electricity is the one responsible in running the equipments used to revive and sustain human life. Electricity is also responsible in lighting our homes and in making our transportation easier to access. With electricity, wireless communications become possible. As the need of electricity is increasing day by day, the cases of power pilferage and illegal electricity connections are also increasing.

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Most cases of electricity pilferage occurs in areas were the demand for electricity is increasing. Electricity pilferage is common in many countries and energy worth huge amount is stolen annually from electricity grids that passed to the consumers. The problem has socioeconomic, political, environmental and technical roots, but the solution is generally sought solely through technical measures. Mostly electricity pilferage is a problem in areas with informal settlers. Informal settlers didn't have legitimate electricity connections so that’s why they illegally tap to power lines to sustain their electricity needs. Even some companies pilfer electricity in order to lessen their electricity bills.

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According to Manila Electric Company (Meralco) in 2011, generation charge is the largest component of customers' bill at 55.6%. Distribution charge or Meralco's share is at 18.0%, Transmission charge incurred by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines from generators at 11.4% Taxes takes up 9.2 % and System loss at 9.2%. System losses have two components: technical and non-technical. Technical losses occur naturally and consist mainly of power dissipation in electricity system components such as transmission and distribution lines, transformers, and measurement systems. Non technical losses are caused by actions external to the power system and primary consist of electricity pilferage. Non technical losses are difficult to quantify. Non technical losses in the power sector are almost non-existent or negligibly small in developed countries, as most of the population can afford to pay tariffs reflecting cost of supply (even if they are higher than those reflecting optimized performance of the service providers). In contrast, although mixed, the situation tends to be significantly different in developing countries. Many electricity utilities in developing succeeded in significantly or eliminating non-technical losses in electric supply on a sustainable manner, but others continue to show high non-technical losses.

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Graph 1.1: World 20 Countries with Highest Deficit in Access to Electricity (2010)

According to World Bank Global Electrification Database (2012), India has the highest power deficiency in the world. The graph shows the countries with highest deficit in access to electricity including our country, the Philippines in 15th place.

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Current State of Technology

One of the current methods present in electricity pilferage detection is the Meralco Kuryente Watch which is the anti-power pilferage movement of Meralco in cooperation with concerned citizens and local barangays. Part of Kuryente Watch efforts includes a public service educational campaign to make customers aware of the dangers of power pilferage to lives and property.

In this program by Meralco, citizens are encouraged to report any illegal connection present in their neighborhood. This anti-power pilferage program of Meralco aims to eliminate illegal connections that could minimize system loss.

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Project Description

Wireless Illegal Electricity Connection Detector and Location with SMS notificationpresent an efficient way to implement the wireless communication in a project that will benefit the society and can be a solution to one of today's dilemma; electricity pilferage . This project aims to overcome the power pilferage where violators are bypassing the energy meter and hence it also controls the revenue losses and utility of the electricity authorized agency. Mainly this system is consists of microcontrollers, energy meters and a ZigBee module to monitor power pilferage and notify the authorized agency through SMS which looks after the electricity consumed. The wireless communication is used in this system enabling the system to provide the major advantages such as low power consumption and also the reliability of the ZigBee module in terms of sending and receiving data.

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Statement of the Problem

This project focused on designing and developing a system that can minimize the non technical losses mainly caused by electricity pilferage. The project aims to answer the questions:

1. How can a device be developed in a way that identifies an illegal connection in a power line?

2. How can a device be designed in a way that can determine the location of the power line where unauthorized tapping is occurring?

3. How can a device be developed in a way that can notify electricity providers that unauthorized connection is occurring?

4. How to implement wireless communication in a project addressing electricity pilferage?

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Objectives of the Study

The study aims to develop a system that will detect illegal electricity connection with the aid of power analyzer, microcontroller and implementation of wireless technology using ZigBee. The specific objectives of the study include:

1. To develop a device that identifies an illegal connection in a power line.

2. To design a device that can determine the location of the power line where unauthorized tapping is occurring.

3. To develop a device that can notify electricity providers that unauthorized connection is occurring.

4. To implement wireless communication in a project addressing electricity pilferage.

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Conceptual Framework

Feedback

Figure 1.6: Conceptual Framework

Based on Figure 1.7, the readings of the PA1 (main) and PA2 will be the input and the microcontroller will compare PA1 (main) from PA2 and execute the commands based on the program. The microcontroller will send a SMS to the electricity distributor once unauthorized connections exist.

INPUT

•Reading from PA1 (main) and PA2

PROCESS

•The

microcontroller will compare the power reading from PA1 (main) and PA2

OUTPUT

•If PA1 (main) ≠ PA2, the microcontroller will notify the local power distributor about the illegal connection via SMS containing the location of the illegal connection

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Assumptions

An effective system that will enable to detect the location where does a tapped power line is done. With this, such huge losses can be prevented. We will overcome severe power shortage in our country as well.

Moreover, this kind of implementation of proper billing to all customers would reduce the reckless use of power and would surely help us to build a greener and eco-friendly environment for ourselves.

Scope and Limitations

The design is constricted in the following accounts:

1. The project will focus on minimizing non-technical losses mainly caused by unmetered and illegal electricity connections.

2. The project will focus on developing a system that will identify an illegal connection in power lines.

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3. A microcontroller will be used in comparing the reading of PA1 (main) to the reading of PA2 located customers area.

4. The project is able to detect any unauthorized connection exist only between PA1 (main) and PA2.

The project is limited to the following:

1. The project will consume time upon installation.

2. The project can be costly if installed in more complex topology.

3. The power analyzers used are dependent on the current flowing in the transmission line. Fluctuating current may affect the functionality of the project.

4. The distance covered by the ZigBee 10-200 meters line of sight and depending on the power output and environmental conditions.

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Significance of the Study

We are all aware that power pilferage is one of the problems that our country is facing. But preventing it is very difficult to happen because our methods are insufficient. The effect of this stealing of electricity causes those legal consumers pay more than they expected and sometimes lead to revenue losses along with damage to personal and public property. The project is beneficial to the following:

Local Electricity Distributors.

The project will benefit the local electricity distributors in terms of maximizing their profit margin.

Community.

The project will be beneficial to the community in terms of minimizing the system losses that will result to more fairer monthly bills.

Engineering Discipline.

This project could bring developments in electronics and programming area of engineering. This may also serve as a reference for engineering students to learn about automation for security purposes.

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Future Researchers.

The design project will benefit the future researchers as their reference guide. The project is also open in innovations and developments.

Now, this study intends to develop a system that could be the solution to detect power pilferage. The researchers, by this design, could inform the authorities where that electricity stealing occurs. From what we are experiencing right now, we could help power shortages be prevented. Furthermore, it’ll be helpful for us to live worry-free from costly electricity bill and danger.

Definition of Terms

For much clearer understanding of the terms used in this study, terms are conceptually and operationally defined below:

Pilferage. The act of stealing in small quantities.

Energy Meter. A device that measures the amount of electric energy consumed by a residence, business, or an electrically powered device.

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Technical losses. Losses that naturally occur in transmission and distribution of electricity due to power dissipated in electrical system components.

Non-Technical losses. Losses that caused by factors outside the electricity system; manly caused by electricity pilferage.

ZigBee. A technological standard designed for control and sensor networks.

Microcontroller unit. A microprocessor that controls some or all the functions of an electronic device or system.

GSM module. A specialized type of modem which accepts a SIM card, and operates over a subscription to a mobile operator, just like a mobile phone.

Power analyzer. A device used to measure the power in Watts and Kilowatt hour. It can also analyze and measure harmonics.

Mesh Networking. Network routing permits path formation from any source device to any destination device via a path formed by routing packets through neighbors.

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Chapter 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

This chapter provides an overview of previous research and studies from local and international researchers related to the implementation of technologies used in the designed project. This chapter introduces the framework for the case study that comprises the main focus of the research described in this thesis.

Foreign Studies

According to Jamil & Ahmad (2013), electricity pilferage is common in many countries and a considerable amount is stolen every year from electricity grids. It deteriorates the financial condition of utilities, curtails new investments for capacity development that eventually leads to electricity shortage. This study empirically investigates the effects of various economic and technical factors in explaining the theft from electric utilities in Pakistan. They employed annual panel data for empirical analysis taken from nine electricity distribution companies for the period 1988-2010. The study estimates the Fixed Effects models through the least squares dummy variable technique and Generalized Method of Moments. The results indicate that per capita income has significant negative and electricity price

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positive effect on electricity theft with sufficiently high coefficient values. However, the probability of detection does not perform consistently in combating electricity theft in all the models showing poor deterrence.

A similar study is conducted by Golden & Min (2012). It utilizes data from the power corporation of Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state. They study the politics of electricity theft over a ten year period (2000–09). The result shows that electricity pilferage is substantial in magnitude. The extent of pilferage varies with the electoral cycle of the state. Golden and Min concluded that power pilferage is increasing with the intensity of tubewells, suggesting that it is linked to unmetered electricity use by farmers.

Incumbent legislative members of the state assembly are more likely to be reelected as power theft in their locality increases. Our interpretation of these various results is that power theft exhibits characteristics consistent with the political capture of public service delivery by local elites. Our results fail to substantiate that theft is linked either to political criminality or is the product of weak institutions.

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According to Pawade et al. (2012), growing populations are using increasing amounts of power, which is putting a strain on existing supplies. In many countries the increase in demand is growing at a faster rate than transmission capacity and the cost of providing power is also increasing due to higher fuel prices and increases in the cost of construction and capital expenses. The project provides an overview of Wireless Sensor Network for Power Management, including the cost savings as well as theft indicator prevention system. It then looks at how fits into this picture, and the ways in which it is ideally suited for the development. Our project uses PIC microcontroller along with relay drivers, sensors and GSM module to detect unauthorized usage of electricity as well as wastage of energy in malls and hotels.

Electricity pilferage can be in the form of fraud (meter tampering) or stealing (illegal connections).The financial impacts of theft are reduced income from the sale of electricity and the necessity to charge more to consumer. According to a research paper by Shubham Agarwal & Mayur Agarwal (2010) titled Wireless Power Theft Monitoring System, electricity losses in India during transmission and distribution were about 24%, while losses because of consumer theft or billing deficiencies added another 10–15%. The electrical energy demand for 2016–17 is expected to be at least 1392 TeraWatt Hours, with a peak electric

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demand of 218 GW. The electrical energy demand for 2021–22 is expected to be at least 1915 TeraWatt Hours, with a peak electric demand of 298 GW. If current average transmission and distribution average losses remain same (32%), India needs to add about 135 GW of power generation capacity, before 2017, to satisfy the projected demand after losses.

In this project the researchers considered real-time power monitoring at houses, sensing the power theft at the exact location and transmitting the information over wireless to substation. In this model they used two meters one at consumer’s house and other at pole (supply source to consumer).

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Foreign Literature

ZigBee networks are primarily intended for low duty cycle sensor networks (<1%). A new network node may be recognized and associated in about 30 ms. Waking up a sleeping node takes about 15 ms, as does accessing a channel or transmitting data. ZigBee applications benefit from the ability to quickly attach information, detach, and go to deep sleep, which results in low power consumption and extended battery life. (Lonn & Olsson et al, 2005)

According to Adams & Heile, (2010), ZigBee-style networks began to be conceived about 1998, when many installers realized that both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth were going to be unsuitable for many installers realized that both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth were going to be unsuitable for many applications. In particular, many engineers saw a need for self-organizing ad-hoc digital radio networks.

“The Role of Zigbee Technology in Future Data Communication System” (2009), the ZigBee standard provides network, security, and application support services operating on top of the IEEE 802.15.4 Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) wireless standard. It employs a suite of technologies to enable scalable, self-organizing, self-healing networks that can manage various data

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traffic patterns. ZigBee is a low-cost, low-power, wireless mesh networking standard. The low cost allows the technology to be widely deployed in wireless control and monitoring applications, the low power-usage allows longer life with smaller batteries, and the mesh networking provides high reliability and larger range. ZigBee has been developed to meet the growing demand for capable wireless networking between numerous low power devices. In industry ZigBee is being used for next generation automated manufacturing, with small transmitters in every device on the floor, allowing for communication between devices to a central computer, (Ahmed, 2009).

Local Literature

According to Sanchez (2014), Meralco does not take the problem of power theft seriously. Power thieves are the worst free-riders. It is a criminal offense under Republic Act 7832. Penalties for this crime are imprisonment from 6 years and 1 day to 20 years, and/or payment of P10, 000 up to P20, 000. On top of this, those found guilty shall pay for the corresponding amount of electricity stolen plus surcharges. He heard of some cases where such penalties were imposed on factories and commercial establishments committing this crime. But in his personal

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experience, Meralco appears to be lenient if not somewhat tolerant of households committing the same.

It is a game of cat and mouse between Meralco and power thieves. He lives in a densely populated neighborhood where power theft by some of his neighbors has been going on unabated. At least two multi-family households have been stealing power for decades. This has been reported to Meralco so many times over the years. But each time a team from Meralco’s Inspection Division would cut their illegal connections, someone from these households would reconnect the lines again as soon as the inspection team leaves.

Meralco knows the illegal lines they cut would be reconnected again. They just go through the motion of cutting without putting a permanent solution to the problem. His power thief neighbors have complete appliances. One has an airconditioner; they have washing machines; they sleep with some of their lights turned on at night until daybreak and many times they have their stereos or karaokes blaring so loud with total disregard for their neighbors. The feeling of entitlement runs deep in the veins of these people.

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Power theft is no different from stealing money from someone’s pocket. Paying customers are the ones charged by Meralco for the electrical consumption of these power thieves. Kindly take a look at the Meralco bill.

Monthly bill is the total of several “Bill Subgroups,” the biggest of which is the Generation charge for the actual amount of electricity used. What is overlooked by many is the “System Loss.” Here’s a layman’s explanation of what Meralco’s System Loss is.

For the month of July, his system loss was 7.8% of my total electric bill. Which means that if his total bill was P3,000, P234 accounted for system loss. Assuming that just one third of that was due to power theft, it means that he paid 78 pesos that power thieves should have paid themselves. That’s just for his household for one month. Add to that the system loss paid by other paying customers.

The biggest problem with power theft, however, is the danger it poses to lives and properties. It overloads the main power line that can result to whole neighborhoods being set on fire.

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Tanzanian Utilities Review Best Practices in Costumer Relations, Communications and Loss Reduction; Executive Exchange on Increasing Access to Electricity by Improving Billing, Metering & Collections, Philippines

March 2014 – Manila & Cebu, Philippines – Funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), energy executives from the Tanzania Electric Supply Company Ltd (TANESCO), Zanzibar Electricity Corporation (ZECO), Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (MEM) and Energy and Water Regulatory Authority (EWURA) recently participated in the Executive Exchange on Increasing Access to Electricity by Improving Billing, Metering and Collections in Manila and Cebu, the Philippines. The 14 member Tanzanian delegation met with their counterparts from the Manila Electric Company (MERALCO) and Visayan Electric Company (VECO).

The Tanzania – U.S. Utility Partnership is part of USEA’s Energy Utility Partnership Program (EUPP), which is aimed at increasing sustainable modern energy services and clean energy production in developing countries through volunteer driven partnerships that mobilize overseas utilities to better address energy service priorities, while improving productivity and quality of service.

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Through the Tanzania — U.S. Utility Partnership, the United States Energy Association (USEA) is providing capacity building support to the two utilities in Tanzania through executive exchanges, workshops and short-term technical assistance assignments to learn about utility bests practices from their counterparts in the U.S. and third countries.

TANESCO, Tanzania’s state-owned, vertically integrated electrical utility,

has an installed capacity of 1,501.24 MW, of which it generates 37% from hydro-electric and 62% from thermal (gas and diesel) sources. Currently, TANESCO’s customer base stands at 1,175,000, while electricity connectivity in the country current is 24%. With this in mind, the utility has plans to increase the connectivity to 30% by 2015, and 75% by 2025. High energy losses of nearly 20% continue to create challenges for TANESCO. These are due in large part to aging transmission and distribution systems, along with electricity theft. As result, TANESCO has embarked on several loss reduction programs, including a power factor correction program, smart meter technology, low voltage line improvement projects and public awareness campaigns. Furthermore, they plan to implement time of use pricing and a compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) distribution program. Taken together, these

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programs and initiatives aim to enable more efficient use of Tanzania’s base load capacity.

ZECO supplies power to the islands of Unguja and Pemba, mainly through

two submarine cables from mainland Tanzania. With access to electricity at 82% and connectivity at 40%, ZECO is seeing a growth rate of 7% annually, while its average revenue collection stands at 89% per month. The most pressing challenges facing ZECO revolve around meeting energy demand and addressing an aging distribution system with high capital costs. In addition, low levels of bill payment by customers and losses from electricity theft continue to plague the utility. With this in mind, ZECO has begun to educate customers about the need to work in tandem with meter readers. In addition, the utility has increased its revenue collection efforts by segmenting customers, giving credit periods and using pre-paid meters.

Over the course of the program, the Tanzanian delegates were exposed to numerous best practices in customer service and communications, billing and collections, and loss reduction. TANESCO and ZECO recognized many similarities in the challenges MERALCO and VECO face with their own operations, and

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observed the Filipino utilities approaches to mitigate these issues. Beyond the key topics of customer service and communication, billing and collections, and loss reduction, the exchange also highlighted related issues in emergency response, outage and restoration, utility unbundling and restructuring, regulatory affairs and the integration of renewables into the grid.

Upon the conclusion of the workshop, TANESCO, ZECO, MEM and EWURA were introduced to many best practices, which included:

Customer Service & Communications

1. Expand the number of ways customers can reach the utility for questions or complaints. This includes traditional walk-in visits, telephone, SMS, fax, web chat and social media.

2. Start small with new customer service programs and eventually implement them on a wider scale once they have proven successful.

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3. Utilize annual or bi-annual customer service surveys to help better understand what areas of customer relations a utility is having success in, and what areas it needs to improve.

4. Implement a customer information system (CIS) to help streamline call center operations and expedite customer communications.

5. Engage in “information pushes” to get ahead of any potentially damaging or negative news for a utility.

6. Employ a customer service motto which all customer representatives can easily follow and replicate, such as VECO’s “GUEST”.

Billing & Collections

1. Adhere to a strict and regular schedule for meter testing to ensure false readings are minimized.

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2. Quickly disconnect customers who are delinquent with payments, and charge a reconnection fee for customers who fail to pay. Taken together, these will help incentivize timely payments.

3. Understand how customers prefer to pay; for example, if it is in person, establish payment centers in easy to reach, popular locations.

4. Implement a standardized payment process, from meter reading through the payment stage, which can be followed for all customers’ payment cycles.

5. Encourage customers to utilize alternate payment methods, including mobile or internet payments.

6. For any impending disconnection notice, hand-deliver the notice to the property with a utility representative available to clearly explain the consequences of non-payment.

7. Launch an initiative or program specifically aimed at helping customers understand their bills, emphasizing that only a portion actually goes back to the

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distribution company, while many of the charges are related to generation, transmission and regulations.

Loss Reduction

1. Utilize elevated meter centers (EMC’s) in high-risk areas to deter theft.

2. Engage in information campaigns to warn of the dangers of theft and the potential legal consequences associated with it.

3. If needed, publicize those caught stealing electricity, using public shaming as a means of deterrence.

4. Encourage customers to report observed theft or any visible signs of pilferage.

5. Work with the country’s regulator to implement strict fines and length of imprisonment for those caught stealing electricity.

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6. Always have police present when attempting to apprehend electricity thieves to help ensure safety of the utility representative and also legitimize apprehension.

7. Immediately terminate any employee caught stealing or colluding with a customer.

8. Require that all meter readers are accredited with the utility, in addition any third party that is contracted to work with the utility.

9. Charge a fee for any utility equipment or material that is “lost” by a meter reader as a way to discourage theft.

Local Studies

Automated Restaurant Menu Ordering System Using ZigBee, a design project presented to the faculty of the College of Engineering of Pamantasan ng Cabuyao, Laguna, Philippines. The project is a standardized ordering system that will provide an inexpensive convenient and simple to use scheme for automating ordering for chosen fine dine restaurants.

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The Automated Restaurant Menu Ordering System using ZigBee is an application of same wireless communication and automation that gives an easier restaurant ordering system. With the proposed system, the ordering process is more accurate and was found to possibly lessen restaurant service errors. The ordering process is done easily with the help of a touch screen device that serves as a menu list. When the customer is done ordering, the data will be transmitted to the central server using ZigBee then through LAN connection, the kitchen station will receive the information and the monitor displays the list of orders (Batac et al., 2014).

Power Monitoring and Control System, a design project presented to the faculty of the College of Engineering of Pamantasan ng Cabuyao, Laguna, Philippines. The project is a combination of hardware and software components. The software develop based on graphical user interface in Visual Basic which interface with the hardware by the used of PIC microcontroller as controller through serial communication. The system is expected to become an intelligent management system that lead to energy saving and also to keep the life span of the light through eliminating the improper usage.

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The Power Monitoring and Control System (PMaCS) is also designed to monitor the power consumption of the whole structure and some specific rooms. For general view of the system, by wiring the power outlet and lights at the provided power socket in the device, the user allows seeing the consumption rate of a specific load that being monitored and also the user can control the switches of lights and power outlet. This would be an essential modernize from traditional switching to PC based switching, (Desipeda et al, 2014).

Relevance to the Present Study

With the literatures and studies gathered, the researchers will be able to raise a new design project proposal that can be useful in the society.

Some of the information embedded in the studies gathered can be used and necessary to the overall development of the design project. The related literatures gathered were significant in terms of application of wireless communication technology. Combining results and outputs from gathered studies will enable the researchers to identify the disadvantages of each design and develop a way to eliminate these disadvantages in the proposed design project.

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CHAPTER 3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter deals with the methodologies used throughout the study as well as the sources of data and materials utilized to obtain the objective of the study. This chapter will introduce project design, research design, project development, operation and testing procedures, instruments and techniques used.

Project/Research Design

The researchers known that non-technical solution like reporting incidents concerning this power pilferage are not developed. Now, as technology moves forward, this might be a solution. We come up with this anti-power pilferage system for we think it's more convenient and advanced. And with this innovation using today's technology, we can minimize the cases of electricity pilferage. This project is designed to detect unauthorized connection from the transmission line by using power analyzers that measures the current from main power line to the distribution lines. The system is composed of microcontrollers that will compare the readings from the power analyzers and transmit data wirelessly using RF modules and

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ZigBee module. Once an unauthorized connection is detected, the system will send message to the local electricity distributor about the illegal connection via SMS with the location of the line tapped.

Figure 3.1: Project Design

The proposed system is consists of microcontrollers programmed to monitor the readings of the power analyzers installed parallel on the transmission line. Based on Figure 3.1, the operation of the project can be simplified as follows:

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1. The PA1 (main) will measure the current from the transmission line.

2. The PA2 will measure the current from the other end of the transmission line.

3. The MCU from PA2 will transmit its reading to MCU of PA1 (main) wirelessly using Zigbee module.

4. The MCU from PA1 (main) will compare its reading to the reading of PA2.

5. Once the readings of PA1 (main) and PA2 varies, the MCU of PA1 (main) will trigger the GSM module to send a SMS to electricity provider the location of the transmission line illegally tapped.

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Operation/Testing Procedure

The operation and testing procedures are used to make sure that the design project is capable in executing its' desired function properly and its' reliability before it goes to production.

The following are the operation and testing procedure of the project:

1. Turn on the system.

2. Wait until the system is finished initializing the programs in embedded components.

3. Plug the project to an outlet in order to have a current flow to be monitored by the power analyzers in the system.

4. The readings of the power analyzers are compared by a microcontroller were data are sent wirelessly using radio frequency and ZigBee.

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5. Plug a device in an outlet in between the power analyzers. These outlets are the representation of where electricity pilferers usually tap in order to connect to electricity lines illegally and bypassing the electricity meter.

6. The system will detect the illegal connection; the microcontroller will cut the supply and the system will notify the electricity distributors about the unauthorized connection detected by the system via SMS. The Text message sent by the system contains the location of the transmission line tapped.

Project Development

These are the things to consider in developing the project:

1. Design a plan concerning the prevention of power pilferage.

2. Define the components that are suitable for the device and ZigBee but consider the compatibility.

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3. Construct a series of programs for the system. (Sketch a program for the microcontroller commanding the microcontroller to compare readings from the power analyzers and a program for the ZigBee that will implement wireless transmission of data).

4. Load and configure the programs to the device for the means of transmission and make sure the program is running.

5. Additional testing on the device's capability (e.g. temperature variation, elevation, testing equipment's calibration).

These are the components essential to the development of the design project:

Internet

World Wide Web (www) supplied the researchers the data and knowledge necessary to the construction to the design project.

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Arduino IDE

The Arduino integrated development environment (IDE) is a cross platform application written in Java, and is derived from the IDE for the processing programming language and the wiring projects. It is designed to introduce programming to artists and other newcomers unfamiliar with software development. It includes a code editor with features such as syntax highlighting, brace matching, and automatic indentation, and is also capable of compiling and uploading programs to the board with a single click. A program or code written for Arduino is called a sketch.

Xbee series 1

A device based on IEEE technological standard 802.15.4 used to connect microcontrollers and computer wirelessly.

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Power Analyzer MK11

Power Analyzer Kit that can be interfaced with any USART equipped microcontroller or PC. It can be easily configured as a standalone power measuring equipment when used with a Serial LCD II kit. This device can measure:

- Real Power - Apparent Power - Reactive Power

- Fundamental & Harmonic Power - Power Factor

- Volt rms - Amp rms - Watt-Hr

AT Command

AT commands are instructions used to control a modem. AT is the abbreviation of ATtention.

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Arduino Pro mini (Atmel328 16 Mhz 5volts)

Atmel382P is a low power CMOS 8-bit microcontroller based on the AVR enhanced RISC architecture. By executing powerful instructions in a single clock cycle, Atmel328P achieves throughputs approaching 1 MIPS per MHz allowing the system designer to optimize power consumption versus processing speed.

GPRS/GPS Quadband Module for Arduino (SIM900)

SIM900 module from SIMCOM is a GPRS shield compatible for Arduino and its clones. The GPRS shield provides a communication using the GSM cell network. The shield allows you to achieve SMS, MMS, GPRS and audio via UART by sending AT commands.

Calendar of Activities

The researchers use a Gantt chart of activities for planning and guiding projects. Gantt chart is essential in providing a visual overview of milestones and other key dates, these charts are thought to offer a more understandable and memorable method of maintaining timescale-based tasks and deliverables whether tracked on a daily, weekly, monthly or yearly basis.

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Legend: WW = Working Week; = Accomplished Work ; = Target work

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Evaluation Procedure

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Evaluation Criteria

The proposed project must satisfy the functions it was designed for. The project must achieve the desired output in order to consider it is functioning properly. The project is designed to detect unauthorized connection in a transmission. The main goal of the project is to minimize system losses accumulated by pilfering of electricity. We all know that it is impossible to eliminate losses in transmission and distribution of electricity but by implementing the project, it is expected to lessen the cases of illegal connection. The local power distributors will benefit from the proposed project in terms of saving man-hours of monitoring the power lines. It will also benefit the customers in terms of minimizing the system loss in their monthly bills. The proposed project can also prevent fires caused by the illegal connections in the transmission line. Table 3.1 illustrates the inputs and the outputs required before considering the project is working properly.

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Table 3.2: Evaluation Criteria

Legend:

NORMAL MODE = no unauthorized connection detected ALERT MODE = unauthorized connection is detected

INPUT REQUIRED OUTPUT

CASE 1: PA 1(MAIN) = PA 2 NORMAL MODE CASE 2: PA 1 (MAIN) ≠ PA 2 ALERT MODE

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Instruments and Testing Techniques

The compilation of the data would be provided in the design project will be gathered by the researchers from latest technology available and reliable sources. The researchers would acquire information, knowledge or ideas in the World Wide Web, books and other theses that are related to the project.

Compile the different theories that are gathered and make the general theory that suits the project. The following instruments are used to develop the design project. The researchers used several programs to simulate the circuit designs in the project. By using such programs, the researchers are able to test the capability of the project and identify the possible adjustments in parameters of the components used.