Development of a Low Cost Phasor Measurement Unit for Laboratory Studies

With the continuous growing demand and consumption of electricity, it is a matter of constant research and development about how to maintain the electricity more reliable and disturbance free. Electrical grids and supply connections are extremely sensitive and very prone to disturbances and disruptions. It is always a curious point of study and concern in electrical systems to protect the system and rectify the faults promptly. In a wide area measurement system (WAMS), synchronized phasor measurement units with global positioning system (GPS) are crucial for real time monitoring and protection of power system. Phasor measurement unit (PMU) is a power system metering device that gives measurements of real-time phasors of voltages and currents that are synchronized from the unified time source of a global positioning system (GPS). In this paper, a low-cost design and implementation of a PMU is presented. The PMU is developed in the laboratory as per the existing IEEE standards for synchrophasor measurement with the help of Arduino Uno and Arduino Due microcontrollers.