AC (alternating current) meters are excellent tools to measure the power draw. It is possible to make use of an AC meters to measure the power usage of their appliances and devices in order to reduce the cost of energy. Manufacturers can particularly profit of AC meters to gain insight into the energy consumption of their projects. Standard AC meters can be inexpensive and easily accessible however they aren’t able to measure inductive loads with precision. It’s a DIY precision digital AC Meter can handle loads with inductive characteristics.
An inductive load is a device or appliance that makes use of electrical coils. They are present in transformers, motors relays, and other electric components of a basic nature. These coils produce an ordinary resistive load as well as one that is inductive. The greater the power of the inductive load compared to that of the resistive load the less accurate the typical AC meters reads become. A cooling unit, for instance is an extremely inductive load. It is a relatively inexpensive AC meters are able to measure the peak of the current’s sine waves however, an inductive load alters the form of the wave to the point that it’s not a sine-wave and results in inaccurate calculations by the meter.
Its DIY AC meter will incorporate the power factor into consideration, which helps it get an accurate estimate of the actual power of the circuit. A Arduino Nano board monitors a the HLW8032 energy measuring IC which monitors current and voltage on the line. The HLW8032 calculates the power factor apparent power, the active power, and the power factor , and transmits the data into the Arduino using UART. The Arduino displays the information on a 4-by-20-character LCD screen. All the components mount onto a custom PCB , which includes connections for inputs to the AC source as well as output terminals to load.
