K. C. Okafor - Dept. of Mechatronics Engineering, FederalUniversity of Technology, Owerri, Nigeria.
G. C. Ononiwu - Dept. of Mechatronics Engineering, FederalUniversity of Technology, Owerri, Nigeria.
U Precious - Dept. of Electrical and ElectronicEngineering, Federal University ofTechnology, Owerri, Nigeria.
A.C Godis - Dept. of Electrical and ElectronicEngineering, Federal University ofTechnology, Owerri, Nigeria

energy management strategy for cost optimization offers a new paradigm for energy users in Nigeria. This research developed Arduino based energy consumption rate meter for residential homes using multidisciplinary concepts in Mechatronics. Thesystem features real time demand side management using composite design methodology (CDM). It comprises the metering and cloud server cluster units. The work introduced ACS712 Hall Effect current sensor, Arduino Uno (with ATmega328 chipset), andSIM800L GSM modules to achieve the system functionalities. The design description on editor runtime environment enabled direct debugging in the open source Integrated Development Environment (IDE). he approach was evaluated through selected casestudies and usability experiments. With the latter, the suitability of the system provided an efficient means of monitoring energy consumption with minimal errors. The results showed that when the meter was switched- ON with no load, an output of 0.00kWh was read. By connecting i-core7 Dell Inspiron laptop to it, an output of 10.75kWh was then observed on the cloud webapplication (real time). The output kept increasing whilst the load was still connected to the meter asexpected. Utilities can smartly provide value-added services using the system, thereby increasing theirrevenues while ensuring customers satisfaction

Internet of Things, Cloud Computing, SmartMeter, Demand Side Management,Utility