Development Of A Cloud-Based Condition Monitoring Scheme For Distribution Transformer Protection

Abstract

Distribution transformers are a necessity to ensure a reliable power supply to consumers and their inability to function properly or even breakdown should be avoided due to the high cost of replacing them. Distribution transformers are large in numbers and randomly distributed in cities and there is a need to accurately monitor their daily/hourly performance. To achieve this, real-time monitoring of the transformer’s health status is proposed rather than the use of the traditional approach involving physical inspection and testing which is slow, tedious and time-consuming. This paper presents a cloud-based monitoring scheme applied to a prototype distribution transformer. A 10kVA, 0.415 kV prototype distribution transformer has been acquired and connected to three residences for data acquisition. A data acquisition system has been developed to monitor and record the parameters of the prototype transformer for 14 days. The parameters, monitored in real-time include load current, phase voltage, transformer oil level, ambient temperature and oil temperature. The acquired real-time data of the transformer is validated with the standard measuring instrument. An algorithm was developed to transmit and log the data to ThinkSpeak cloud server via node MCU (ESP 8266). Results obtained in this study, which can be visualized via the graphical user interface of ThinkSpeak, indicate that the proposed scheme can acquire vital data from the distribution transformers and transmit the information to the monitoring centre.