Fall 2010 IAB
September 15 to 17
Self-powered MEMS Sensors for Measuring Electrical Quantities in Residential, Commercial, Distribution and Transmission Power Systems
Ongoing initiatives for energy conservation present the need for ubiquitous sensing of electrical power use in residential and commercial settings. Inexpensive and massively distributed electrical sensors installed in power distribution and transmission systems will enable collection of highly granular information regarding the operation of the Power Grid. Incorporated into the upcoming SmartGrid infrastructure, we envision such data-collecting capability to enhance the overall stability of the power grid, as well as improve diagnostic capabilities. We present our ongoing work towards developing self powered MEMS sensors that can be installed in both the residential and commercial settings, as well as in power distribution and transmission systems to support the SmartGrid. These sensors-nodes will be able to provide diagnostic information,as well as measure electrical quantities such as voltage, current and power, using a suite of MEMS sensors, as well as scavenge the energy needed for its operation from the current flowing in the energized conductor it is measuring.