Satellite telemetry system for pollution detection on insulator strings of high-voltage transmission lines

Leakage current monitoring is a promising method of indirect estimation of pollution levels on insulators strings of high voltage transmission lines. This paper describes the development of a complete real time leakage current monitoring sensor system. This system is composed of an optical sensor with a fiber link, a processing microcontrolled module, a satellite link and a solar panel with battery. The most important characteristics obtained from the leakage current signal are internally stored in the PIC16F877A microcontroller and transmitted through the satellite communication link. The information is downloaded from the website of the satellite link provider and inserted in a database with a web-based graphical user interface.