Monitoring of the Efficiency and Conditions of Induction Motor Operations by Smart Meter Prototype Based on a LoRa Wireless Network

Abstract

The installation of smart meters in the industry to monitor induction motors (IMs) provides easy access to the measurements of the electrical and mechanical variables, which improves the installation process. Using smart meters in industry requires temporary high-resolution data to improve the energy efficiency (EE) and power factor (PF) of IMs. For these purposes, Long Range (LoRa) is an ideal wireless protocol for the usage in industries due to its low energy consumption. In addition, it provides secure communications and long range indoors and outdoors. LoRa avoids the need to install antennas or routers to extend coverage, as each gateway can service 300 LoRa devices with distances of up to 10 km. For this purpose, this research successfully developed a new prototype for a low-cost IM Efficiency Monitoring System using LoRa (IMEMSL). IMEMSL is based on the Arduino open-source electronic platform. It sends the acquired data through the LoRa low-power wide-area-network (LPWAN) and cloud access gateway. This document describes the hardware and software design and implementation. The experimental results are presented and discussed. Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) and time on air measured endorse the use of LoRa for this type of meters. The approximate cost of the prototype was €72 and €93 for the versions without and with Global Positioning System (GPS), respectively.

Design and Testing of a Power Analyzer Monitor and Programming Device in Industries with a LoRA LPWAN Network

“…The use of these networks in industry is becoming more and more widespread due to their great possibilities. Cano-Ortega et al [20] developed a smart meter prototype that integrates into LoRa LPWAN networks to monitor the efficiency of working conditions of induction motors used in industry. Sanchez-Sutil el al.…”

High-Performance Long Range-Based Medium Access Control Layer Protocol

“…This process will loop until the data packet is sent out. Since the transmission is deferred with probability (1 − p) even the channel is detected idle, there exists a silent period between two TPs which is called initial random transmission delay (IRTD) [25,26]. Figure 2 shows the conventional p-persistent CSMA algorithm that uses a time slot media access control method [19].…”

Smart Metering in Infrastructure-Less Communication Environments and Applicability of LoRa Technology

“…According to LoRa Alliance, LoRaWAN can complement LTE variations in serving different application segments to achieve a + 20 dB gain over the legacy cellular system in providing extended network coverage [14]. LoRaWAN has been explored in the context of an SM in [15][16][17]. In [15], the authors found that LoRaWAN was scalable, configurable, the setup process was easy, and performed well for real-time smart metering applications.…”

“…In [15], the authors found that LoRaWAN was scalable, configurable, the setup process was easy, and performed well for real-time smart metering applications. An SM prototype was developed in [16] to monitor the energy efficiency of induction motors. Enhancing the security of meter-reading systems based on LoRa technology through an improved session key management was proposed in [17].…”