Low-cost real-time internet of things-based monitoring system for power grid transformers

Abstract

One of the most common causes of blackouts is unexpected failures at power system transformer levels. The purpose of this project is to create a low-cost Internet of things (IoT)-based monitoring system for power grid transformers in order to investigate their working status in real-time. Our monitoring system’s key functions are the gathering and display of many metrics measured at the transformer level (temperature, humidity, oil level, voltage, vibration, and pressure). The data will be collected using various sensors connected to a microcontroller with an embedded Wi-Fi module (DOIT Esp32 DevKit v1), and then supplied to a cloud environment interface with a full display of all the ongoing changes. This technology will provide the power grid maintenance center with a clear image of the transformers’ health, allowing them to intervene at the right time to prevent system breakdown. The method described above would considerably improve the efficiency of a power transformer in a smart grid system by detecting abnormalities before they become critical.