ARDUINO HOME ELECTRICITY METERING

Hi nerds!

Here is the first tutorial of a long series describing how to transform your home into a jewel of internet of things. I renctly moved to my new house which will be the guinea pig :) and I will document everything in different tutorial to share with the community ;) Check my blog for further information concerning this big project http://joeldsmelo.wix.com/joelmelo

One of the functionalities i want to have in my smart home is energy (electricity, gas and water) metering in order to display consumption information.

Step 1: Which Kind of Electricity Meter Your Home Is Equiped?

First of all you have to identify the technology of your electricity meter. Basically, there are two kinds.

In the one hand, the old ones composed by a rotating disk with magnets, so for each disk round one given amount of electricity is consumed. The easiest way to count rounds is by measuring the magnetic field induced by the rotating magnets located over the disk, so you need a hall effect sensor as this one: https://www.sparkfun.com/products/9312

In the other hand, the modern ones that are fully electronic and have usually a led on front that blinks each time a given amount of electricity is consumed. It is necessary to detected when the led turns on, so you need a light sensor as this one: http://www.ebay.com/itm/251903122999?rmvSB=true

Step 2: Getting Everything Wired

As you can see in the picture mine is electronic.

TO BE CONTINUED