EPSRC HEED Data Repository: Individual Appliance Monitoring System

The dataset deposited here was prepared under the EPSRC-funded Humanitarian Engineering and Energy for Displacement research project (EP/P029531/1). The project aimed to understand energy needs of displaced communities, create an evidence base on the usage of different energy interventions and provide recommendations for improved design of future energy interventions to better meet the needs of people. 

As part of the project, we deployed an Individual Appliance Monitoring (IAM) System in the Uttargaya settlement in Nepal. The Individual Appliance Monitoring System provides a simple, cost-effective and unobtrusive method of collecting data on the energy usage of connected appliances with the aim to: Evaluate energy consumption of different appliances and Evaluate usage patterns for different appliances.

The monitoring system comprises of 2 types of devices – Energenie MiHome Smart Plugs MIHO005 (i.e. Individual Appliance Monitors (IAM)) to sense data relating to power and voltage drawn by the connected appliance, and gateway nodes to collect data from IAM. The unit cost of a MIHO005 adaptor and Raspberry Pi-based gateway is £34.99 and £74.17 respectively. The main component of the gateway node is a Raspberry Pi fitted with an Energenie ENER314-RT (receiver-transmitter) add-on board to allow the Pi to communicate with the smart plugs. The data collected by the gateway is stored locally in an SD card as well as sent to the heed-data server hosted in Coventry University.

Post Deployment Challenges:

·         Power outages: These are common in the camp. Data is lost during this time as the devices have no access to power.

·         Internet connectivity: The availability and reliability of Wi-Fi continue to be an issue for the transmission of data to heed-data server.