Smart meter led probe for real-time appliance load monitoring

Non-intrusive load monitoring of domestic appliances has received steady interest in the last twenty years, first because of interest from energy companies interested in usage statistics for power balancing and, more recently, in order to assist users in tuning their habits for reduced power consumption. We discuss how this concept can be used in real-time with a cheap, easy-to-install device based on Arduino to monitor the usage of domestic appliances and thus the activities of persons inside their home. The device is presented, complete with free software and hardware, and a proof-of-concept web-based user interface is depicted that is able to discriminate very simple activities.