Development of a web-based module for automatic electrical energy management on an animal farm for a resilient electrical system

Abstract

Guaranteeing a reliable service to consumers, while reducing power interruptions and minimising environmental impact, is one of the main challenges facing rural electricity distribution. Poor energy quality has a negative impact on production efficiency. For this reason, an automatic module controlling electrical energy from the approved distributor, solar energy and biogas, as well as internal farm parameters, has been developed to help achieve resilient energy. The device consists of an Arduino Mega board, sensors, actuators, clock and wifi modules and a web application for seamless communication between the farmer and the farm. Initial tests on the prototype revealed a minimum efficiency of 90.28% for all units. Laboratory tests showed that the module is able to communicate almost instantaneously with the farmer. It was concluded that the use of this module can seriously limit the variation of electrical energy on a farm and contribute effectively to its resilience. It therefore considerably reduces the environmental pollution caused by farms around the world and increases livestock production.