RFID AC Current Sensing Technique

Abstract

The mechanism is described by which a passive UHF RFID tag coupled with a tuning circuit is integrated with a current transformer for sensing ac current in an electrical wire for smart power monitoring of individual appliances. A capacitance change in the tuning circuit results from a reverse bias voltage from the current transformer. The tuning circuit reactance is detected by a capacitance sensing RFID tag and the value is transmitted as a 5–bit sensor code which is directly related to the ac current drawn by an electrical load. The passive tag harvests energy and offers an innovative solution for energy management in future smart homes and for industry 4.0. As well as indicating current level, the technique can also be used to detect the ON and OFF state of an electrical device and is demonstrated to work for a rapidly switching load. The sensor is tuned for EPC Class 1 Generation 2 UHF RFID readers at 868 MHz.