Local recorder of electrical parameters for determining the behavior of the residential demand in the city of Cuenca

Abstract

The aim of this research is to present an electronic instrument, developed locally, which allows to log electrical data and to model energy consumptions of homes in the city of Cuenca-Ecuador. This hands-on research is carried out in order to identify the energy behavior of the electrical demand and to corroborate that the refrigerator is the electric appliance with the most energy consumption inside the homes. By means of real-time measurements it is possible to get first-hand values ​​of electrical parameters at the subscriber level, which has not yet been done in the residential sector of the country. For this reason, an electronic device is developed, which, through firmware programming, delivers RMS voltage, RMS current, power factor and the active power. The equipment records the parameters continuously in periods of one second. This device was developed with relatively low economic resources so it could be disseminated and used massively. The importance of having the electrical parameters in real time begins with the final elimination of consumption speculation based on estimations and paves the way to control the demand from the user side. Through modeling and analysis of the results and the energy consumption curves, energy consumption policies are also proposed within the residential sector, suggesting to change the behavior of the electric energy consumption. In the same way, based on the analysis of the results, it is possible to contribute with technical criteria of energy efficiency for an adequate dimensioning of electrical equipment that conform the distribution system in the residential sector of Cuenca.