Self-powered advanced meter design for smart grid

A universal GPS synchronized meter is presented, intended for use in smart grid applications. A high fidelity real time monitoring system that enables full awareness of the system status and the operating conditions is achieved. The meter consists of an energy harvester, voltage and current sensors, a GPS receiver, a microprocessor, and a wireless communication component. The device makes use of the magnetic field around the power line to be self-powered. Here a design of the energy harvester is shown, which takes into consideration installation, size, and cost for a practical usage in the smart grid. In addition, a voltage sensor and a current sensor that can measure the magnitude and the phase angle of the corresponding waveform are used. The whole system also combines a GPS receiver, a microprocessor, and a RF communication component to enable a synchronized time and position stamp and a two-way communication of the measured data.