Hardware and software architecture for overhead line rating monitoring

Real time monitoring in both electrical transmission and distribution lines is an interesting option for knowing the electrical load level of these lines. The information about the load level allows alleviating the overloaded lines if the power can be transferred to other lines. In this paper, a new ampacity monitoring system for overhead lines, based on the conductor tension, the ambient temperature, the solar radiation and the current intensity, is presented. The measurements are transmitted via GPRS to a control center where a software program calculates the ampacity value. The system takes into account the creep deformation experienced by the conductors during their lifetime and calibrates the tension-temperature reference and the maximum allowable temperature in order to obtain the ampacity.