An Improved Population Based Automatic Appliance Control System for Effective Energy Management

In this work, a population-based energy management system was developed to control the switching of electrical appliances in a building based on the number of persons available in the building in order to reduce the amount and cost of energy consumed. This was achieved through the use of an Arduino Nano controller board, RCWL- 0516 microwave motion sensor, two ultrasonic distance sensors, a switching relay, 16×2 LCD and a 12V DC power supply. The Microwave motion sensor was used in determining human motion and as such initiated counting by the ultrasonic sensors. The ultrasonic sensors were placed at the exit and entry points. Counting by the ultrasonic sensor was determined by the direction of passage. The resultant population present was displayed on the LCD. When tested, the system was observed to switch off all electrical appliances when population count was at zero, signifying no one present in the building, and appliances turned on when a human entry was detected. Thus, this system was able to effectively manage energy, reducing the cost of energy consumption, and also prevents damage to electrical appliances as no appliance was left ON when no one was present.