SocketWatch: An autonomous appliance monitoring system

Year: 2014, Pages: 38-43

DOI Bookmark: 10.1109/PerCom.2014.6813941

Authors

Tanuja Ganu, IBM Research, India
Dwi Rahayu, Monash University, Australia
Deva P. Seetharam, IBM Research, India
Rajesh Kunnath, Radio Studio, India
Ashok Pon Kumar, IBM Research, India
Vijay Arya, IBM Research, India
Saiful A. Husain, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Brunei
Shivkumar Kalyanaraman, IBM Research, Australia

Abstract

A significant amount of energy is wasted by electrical appliances when they operate inefficiently either due to anomalies and/or incorrect usage. To address this problem, we present SocketWatch - an autonomous appliance monitoring system. SocketWatch is positioned between a wall socket and an appliance. SocketWatch learns the behavioral model of the appliance by analyzing its active and reactive power consumption patterns. It detects appliance malfunctions by observing any marked deviations from these patterns. SocketWatch is inexpensive and is easy to use: it neither requires any enhancement to the appliances nor to the power sockets nor any communication infrastructure. Moreover, the decentralized approach avoids communication latency and costs, and preserves data privacy. Real world experiments with multiple appliances indicate that SocketWatch can be an effective and inexpensive solution for reducing electricity wastage.

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