Low-cost dual-factor programmable circuit breaker for demand-response load management in industrial microgrids

Industrial sectors are facing increasing demands to reduce operational expenditures, enhance energy efficiency, and maintain high safety standards. Ineffective load management, prolonged fault detection, and unauthorized switching contribute to wasted energy, production disruptions, and increased maintenance expenditures. This manuscript presents a dual-factor authentication programmable circuit breaker that integrates biometric fingerprint recognition, password authentication, and real-time current monitoring utilizing a low-cost ATmega328P platform. Unlike existing designs that implement authentication or fault detection in isolation, the proposed system uniquely combines secure access, sub-50 ms protection response, and demand-responsive load-priority management for peak energy reduction in industrial microgrids. Experimental validation confirmed complete unauthorized access rejection, fault detection within ±0.1 A, and tripping times of 45–49 ms, compliant with IEC 60947-2 and IEEE C37.112 standards. Simulations in Python validated that adaptive demand response strategies achieved a peak current reduction of up to 35% while maintaining critical loads for 30 days. The proposed design surpasses traditional and advanced smart breakers in response times, authentication strength, and fault detection accuracy, as evidenced by benchmarking. These findings indicate that the breaker serves as a secure, scalable solution for industrial microgrids, enhancing protection and facilitating energy-aware load management.