PIC-based automatic meter reading and control over the low voltage distribution network

Abstract

The rising technology in the metering department that has not been seen for many years since the introduction of the electro-mechanical meter in the early 20th Century is without a doubt, AMR or automatic meter reading. There are many different forms of communication links that can be utilised as the communication medium in an AMR system. One such link is the power line carrier or PLC. The advantages of using the PLC as the communication medium is readily apparent since the power line network is the property of the utility company and its infrastructure is already there. However, power lines are never meant for communication and creates much noise. Therefore, various modifications has to be made to make the PLC suitable to be the AMR communication channel. For their AMR system, the authors converted an electromechanical or analogue meter into a digitised pulse meter to enable a PIC 16F870 microcontroller to store the meter read data and transmit them across the power line carrier.