AUTOMATIC TARIFF CALCULATION WITH WIRELESS

ENERGY METER
[Link] Kumar, Dr. Dilip Kumar Patel, Akhilesh Yadav, Ajay Sharma,
Nitin singh Department of Electrical Engineering
Kamla Nehru Institute of Technology, Sultanpur

Abstract:The project “Automatic Tariff Calculation with Wireless Energy Meter” is designed to
automate the electricity billing process using wireless communication technology. Traditional
electricity billing systems require manual meter reading, which often leads to human errors,
increased operational cost, delayed billing, and inconvenience to consumers. The proposed system
overcomes these limitations by implementing an automatic wireless energy monitoring and tariff
calculation [Link] system uses a digital energy meter, PIC16F72 microcontroller, ZigBee
wireless communication modules, LCD display, optocoupler, relay circuit, and regulated power
supply. The energy meter generates pulses proportional to electrical energy consumption. These
pulses are detected using an IR sensor and processed by the microcontroller to calculate consumed
energy units. The measured data is transmitted wirelessly to the Electricity Board (EB) section
through ZigBee communication. At the EB section, automatic tariff calculation is performed based
on predefined electricity rates. The billing information is transmitted back to the consumer side and
displayed on the LCD screen. The system also includes an automatic load disconnection feature
using a relay in case the electricity bill is not paid within the due date.
The proposed system provides accurate billing, reduced manpower, real-time monitoring, improved
efficiency, and secure wireless [Link] project can be effectively used in smart homes,
industries, and modern automated energy management systems.

Keywords: ZigBee, Energy Meter, Wireless Communication, Automatic Billing, PIC16F72,

Smart Metering, Tariff Calculation.
1. Introduction conventional systems do not support real-time
monitoring of electricity usage and are unable
Electricity is one of the most important to detect electricity theft efficiently.
resources in modern society and plays a vital
role in domestic, commercial, and industrial To overcome these limitations, smart energy
applications. With the rapid growth of monitoring systems are being developed using
population and industries, the demand for embeddedsystemsandwireless
electrical energy is continuously increasing. communication technologies. Automation in
Therefore, efficient monitoring and energy metering improves efficiency, reduces
management of electricity consumption have human intervention, and provides accurate and
become necessary to ensure proper utilisation transparent billing. Wireless communication
of energy resources. In traditional electricity technologies such as ZigBee are widely used
billing systems, meter readings are collected in smart metering applications because of their
manually by visiting each consumer’s location.
This method requires a large amount of
manpower and time, and it often results in
human errors, delayed billing, inaccurate
readings, and increased operational costs. In
many cases, consumers may not be available
during meter reading, which further
complicates the billing process. Moreover,
low power consumption, reliability, and cost- 2. Description
effectiveness. Smart monitoring systems also
support real-time data transmission, which The project is designed to automate the
helps both consumers and electricity boards to process of electricity monitoring and billing
monitor energy consumption effectively. using wireless communication technology.
The main objective of this system is to reduce
The project “Automatic Tariff Calculation with human effort, eliminate manual errors, and
Wireless Energy Meter” is designed to provide accurate electricity billing through
automate the electricity billing process using automatic tariff calculation. In conventional
wireless communication technology. The electricity billing systems, meter readings are
proposed system continuously monitors energy collected manually by electricity board
consumption and automatically calculates the employees, which is time-consuming, costly,
electricity tariff based on the consumed units. and prone to errors. The proposed system
The system uses a digital energy meter, P I C 1 overcomes these limitations by implementing
6F72microcontroller,ZigBee a smart wireless energy monitoring system.
communication modules, IR sensor, LCD
display, relay circuit, and regulated power The system mainly consists of two sections:
supply. The energy meter generates pulses the Consumer Side Module and the Electricity
proportional to electrical energy consumption, Board (EB) Side Module. The consumer side
and these pulses are detected by the IR sensor. contains a digital energy meter, IR sensor,
The microcontroller processes the pulse signals PIC16F72 microcontroller, ZigBee transmitter,
and converts them into energy units. The LCD display, relay circuit, and regulated
calculated data is transmitted wirelessly to the power supply. The Electricity Board side
Electricity Board section through ZigBee contains a ZigBee receiver, personal computer,
communication. and tariff calculation software. The energy
meter generates pulses according to the
At the receiver side, the Electricity Board electrical energy consumed by the load. These
system automatically calculates the tariff pulses are detected by the IR sensor and sent
according to the predefined electricity rates. to the microcontroller for processing.
The billing information is then displayed on the
LCD screen at the consumer side. The system The PIC16F72 microcontroller continuously
also includes a relay mechanism that can counts the pulses generated by the energy
disconnect the power supply automatically if meter and converts them into electrical energy
the bill payment is overdue. This feature units in kilowatt-hours (kWh). The calculated
improves power management and minimizes units are displayed on the LCD screen and
revenue loss for the electricity department. transmitted wirelessly to the Electricity Board
section through ZigBee communication.
The proposed system provides several ZigBee technology is used because it provides
advantages over conventional billing systems. It reliable, low-power, and low-cost wireless
reduces manual effort, improves billing communication suitable for smart metering
accuracy, enables real-time monitoring, and applications.
lowers operational costs. ZigBee technology p r
ovidesfastandsecurewireless
communication while consuming very low
power. The system also improves transparency
in electricity billing and supports modern smart
grid applications. Due to these advantages, the
project can be effectively used in smart homes,
industries, commercial buildings, and
automated energy management systems.
 Energy Meter: IR Sensor:
An energy meter is used to measure electrical The IR sensor is used to detect pulse signals
energy consumption in kilowatt-hours (kWh). It from the energy meter. It senses the blinking
records the amount of electricity used by the
LED pulses generated by the meter. The
load. In this project, the energy meter generates
detected signals are sent to the microcontroller
pulses according to power consumption. These
pulses are detected by the IR sensor and for processing. It provides accurate and
processed by the microcontroller. The measured reliable pulse detection. It helps in measuring
data is used for automatic tariff calculation and energy consumption.
wireless monitoring.
PIC16F72 Microcontroller:
Regulated Power Supply:
The PIC16F72 microcontroller is the main
A regulated power supply provides stable DC control unit of the system. It receives pulse
voltage to the circuit. It converts AC supply signals from the IR sensor and calculates
into regulated DC voltage. It ensures proper energy units. It controls the LCD display,
and reliable operation of all components. It ZigBee communication, and relay operation. It
consists of a transformer, rectifier, filter, and performs all processing and monitoring
voltage regulator. It supplies constant power to functions. It manages the overall operation of
the system.
the system.
Load: Relay Circuit:
The load represents electrical appliances or The relay circuit is used to control the
devices that consume electrical power. The electrical load automatically. It disconnects the
energy consumed by the load is measured by power supply if the electricity bill is not paid
the energy meter. Different loads generate within the due date. The relay improves
different pulse rates based on power system safety and power management. It acts
consumption. The system continuously as an automatic electrical switch. It helps
monitors the load usage. It helps in calculating reduce electricity revenue losses.
energy consumption accurately.
Circuit Diagram:
Block Diagram:

Fig 2 Circuit Diagram

Fig 1 Block Diagram of Consumer Module
The flow chart explains the complete working
process of the system. The energy meter
measures the electrical energy consumed by
the load and generates pulses according to
power consumption. These pulses are
detected by the IR sensor and sent to the
PIC16F72 microcontroller for processing.
The microcontroller calculates the consumed
energy units and displays them on the LCD
screen. The data is transmitted wirelessly
through ZigBee to the Electricity Board side
for tariff calculation. The bill amount is
displayed, stored for future records, and the
relay disconnects the supply if payment is
overdue. Finally, the process continues
continuously for real-time monitoring and
automatic billing

3. Flow Chart Fig 3.2 Final Prototype

The flow chart shows the working process of The final prototype of the “Automatic Tariff
automatic tariff calculation using wireless c o Calculation with Wireless Energy Meter” system
m m u n i c a t i o n . I t e x p l a i n s e n e rg was successfully designed and tested. It consists
y measurement, data transmission, and of an energy meter, PIC16F72 microcontroller,
automatic billing operation. ZigBee modules, LCD display, relay circuit, and
regulated power supply. The system accurately
measures energy consumption and transmits data
wirelessly using ZigBee communication. The
consumed units and bill amount are displayed on
both LCD and PC. The relay circuit
automatically controls the load during overdue
payment conditions. The prototype provides
real-time monitoring, accurate billing, reliable
wireless communication, and efficient energy
management. It reduces manual effort and
supports smart metering applications.

4. LCD and PC Output Result

The LCD display shows the consumed energy

units, tariff amount, and system status in real
time. The PC receives the transmitted data
through ZigBee communication and performs
automatic tariff calculation. Both the LCD and
PC provide accurate monitoring and billing
information for efficient energy management.

The LCD display shows the consumed energy

units, tariff amount, and system status in real
time. The PC receives the transmitted data
through ZigBee communication and performs
automatic tariff calculation. Both the LCD and
PC provide accurate monitoring and billing
Fig 3.1 Flow Chat of Automatic information for efficient energy management.
Tariff Calculation with Wireless
Energy Meter
The LCD helps consumers monitor their Units
Bill Zigb
electricity usage continuously. The PC Lo displ
S No. amou ee
maintains billing records and displays energy ad ay
nt trans
consumption details. The system ensures us ed
INR mi
reliable wireless communication and accurate ed (kwh)
ssion
tariff calculation. It improves transparency and
efficiency in the electricity billing process. 100 Succ
1 0.000 0.000
W 3 7 es
bulb sful
100 Succ
2 0.000 0.001
W 6 5 es
bulb sful
100 Succ
3 0.002 0.006
W 5 1 es
bulb sful
Cont Incre Incre
Fig 4.1 Sample LCD Output in as as Succ
Units : 0.0006 KWH | Bill : 0.0015 INR 4
uous ing ing es
oper conti conti sful
ati nu nu
on ously ously

Fig 4.2 Pulse-Based Energy Calculation

The system uses a digital energy meter with a

Fig 4.2 Sample PC Terminal Output pulse rate of 3200 impulses/kWh. The pulses
generated by the energy meter are directly
The sample PC terminal output displays real- proportional to the electrical energy consumed
time electricity consumption and billing by the load.
information. It shows pulse count, energy units
consumed, tariff amount, and system status. Pulse Calculation
The output confirms successful ZigBee wireless For a 100 W bulb operating for 60 seconds:
Result:
communication between the transmitter and
Pulses = 5.33 pulses/minute
receiver modules. It helps maintain accurate
Power per Pulse
billing records and monitor consumer energy Result:
usage efficiently. The result demonstrates the PF = 0.3125 watt per pulse
reliability and accuracy of the automatic tariff Unit Calculation
calculation system. Total pulses in one hour:
The PC terminal continuously receives data Total Pulses = 5.33 × 60 =
from the consumer module and updates the 320 Result:
billing information automatically. It enables Units = 0.1 kWh per hour
real-time monitoring of energy consumption Daily Consumption
and tariff calculation. The displayed data helps For 24 hours operation:
in reducing manual errors and improving billing Units = 0.1 × 24
efficiency. The output verifies the successful Result:
implementation of the wireless Units = 2.4 kWh
Tariff Calculation
energy monitoring and automatic tariff Assuming electricity tariff rate = Rs 5 per unit:
calculation system. Bill = 2.4 × 5
Result:
4.1 : Observation Table: Bill Amount = Rs 12
The calculation confirms the proper working [4] M. A. Mazidi, R. McKinlay, and D.
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