Hardware and software architecture for non-contact, non-intrusive load monitoring

Abstract

The non-intrusive load monitor measures voltage and current in a single power line that supplies electricity to multiple devices. Signal processing algorithms are then used to separate the summed power usage into the individual power usage of each device. This thesis presents three new developments: a hardware architecture that measures the electromagnetic fields surrounding a multi-conductor cable, calibration methods to noninvasively determine a mapping from the sensed fields to power transmission, and a software framework that enables efficient real-time processing of data gathered by the new electromagnetic field sensors.