Application of wireless sensor nodes to commercial power consumption monitoring

We developed prototypes of miniaturized wireless sensor nodes for monitoring the power consumption of electrical devices and have been experimentally applying the networked monitoring system using them to power monitoring of the “convenience stores”. Nowadays, carbon dioxide (CO₂) emission in the ICT field is increasing enormously due to the high electric power consumption of ICT devices, e.g., in internet data centers as well as offices and homes. In order to reduce ICT´s CO₂ emission, it is indispensable to introduce energy management systems (EMS) taking the advantages of wireless sensor network technology. Therefore, we have been developing wireless clamp-meter probes integrated with a thermosensor and a monitoring system that enables simultaneous power consumption measurement of 50 power lines. Using the sensor nodes, power consumption monitoring of “convenience stores” was demonstrated and it was found that the obtained power “profile” of equipments can effectively present the key features of their-usage.