Low-Cost ZigBee® Distributed Transformer Monitoring System Based OnZigbee Technology

Abstract

The paper develops and implements a novel fault indicator for distribution automation to achieve significant and immediate improvement in reliability and hence service to theelectricity customers. The proposed fault indicator is designed based on ZigBee communication. ZigBee has been designed to possess general-purpose protocol with low cost, low power consumption and self networking; and therefore, it is very suitable for constructing the communication network in distribution automation and therefore smart grids in the future. A fault detection and identification system is also designed to find out the fault location effectively and efficiently after a fault occurred. The communication system is responsible for transmitting and receiving data amongst these controllers. This communication system is based on ZigBee technology, which is a low cost and low power consumption device. However, its main limitation is the low data transfer rate. It is helpful to achieve faster recovery following a fault in the network.