I am new to this site and I am happy yo say that it is a place rich in resources.
A little introduction, I am an electrical engineer specializing in power engineering. I am working on a project that involves real-time monitoring of power transformers. The parameters I am interested in are the operating status of the transformer (on/off), temperature of the transformer, the percentage loading of the transformer and sent the results real-time on-line. I am looking at sending it via SIM module(GPRS/EDGE/HSPDA/4G) and I want two sim modules for redundancy.
The parameters I am interested in are the operating status of the transformer (on/off)
I’m not sure how you “turn off” a transformer but you can us a smaller transformer (with a rectifier, etc.) or if the voltage isn’t too high, an optical isolator to monitor input or output voltage.
temperature of the transformer
There are easy-to-use analog temperature sensors (such as the LM34/LM35) or temperature sensors with an I2C interface. (There is an Arduino I2C library.)
the percentage loading of the transformer
Do you have a way of measuring current? A hall-effect current sensor would be the “typical” choice, but I don’t now how much current you’re trying to measure. You can also use a current transformer, which may be more appropriate for higher-power but the Arduino can’t read negative voltages (it can be damaged by negative voltages) so you’ll have to “deal with” the AC.
I am looking at sending it via SIM module(GPRS/EDGE/HSPDA/4G) and I want two sim modules for redundancy.
I assume you’ll want two complete “systems”. And if you are monitoring for power loss, of course you’ll need a battery backup.
DO you have ready access to the transformer? Is it air cooled or oil cooled? If oil, is the oil pumped or gravity circulated? If oil, is there a separate heat transfer unit?