Systems and methods for power interruption

1. A power interruption circuit for use in a power distribution module, said power interruption circuit configured to provide direct current (DC) power to a load and comprising:

a shunt resistor;

a plurality of switches;

a microprocessor configured to:

calculate a resistance of said shunt resistor based on a measured temperature of said shunt resistor;

determine a digitized value of a current flowing through said shunt resistor;

determine a digitized value of a DC output voltage of said power interruption circuit;

calculate, from the digitized current value and the digitized output voltage value, a power provided by said power interruption circuit to the load;

adjust the calculated power to correct errors determined based on a measured ambient temperature;

compare the calculated power to a threshold power level; and

control said plurality of switches based on the comparison;

an amplifier configured to amplify a DC voltage across said shunt resistor; and

an analog to digital converter configured to convert the amplified voltage into a digitized shunt voltage value, wherein said microprocessor is further configured to:

determine the digitized value of the current based on the digitized shunt voltage value and the calculated resistance.

2. A power interruption circuit in accordance with claim 1 , wherein said shunt resistor is coupled in series with at least one of said plurality of switches.

3. A power interruption circuit in accordance with claim 1 , wherein said plurality of switches comprises two switches.

4. A power interruption circuit in accordance with claim 1 , wherein to control said plurality of switches based on the comparison, said microprocessor is configured to:

maintain said plurality of switches in a closed position when the calculated power is less than or equal to the threshold power level; and

switch said plurality of switches from the closed position to an open position when the calculated power is greater than the threshold power level.

5. A power interruption circuit in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the threshold power level is 100 Volt-amperes (VA).

6. A power distribution module for use in a power distribution system, said power distribution module comprising:

a plurality of power interruption circuits, wherein each of said plurality of power interruption circuits is configured to provide direct current (DC) power to a respective load, each of said plurality of power interruption circuits comprising:

a shunt resistor;

a plurality of switches;

an amplifier configured to amplify a DC voltage across said shunt resistor;

an analog to digital converter configured to convert the amplified voltage into a digitized shunt voltage value; and

a microprocessor configured to:

calculate a resistance of said shunt resistor based on a measured temperature of said shunt resistor;

determine a digitized value of a current flowing through said shunt resistor based on the digitized shunt voltage value and the calculated resistance;

determine a digitized value of a DC output voltage of said power interruption circuit;

calculate, from the digitized current value and the digitized output voltage value, a power provided by said power interruption circuit to the respective load;

adjust the calculated power to correct errors determined based on an age of said power distribution module;

compare the calculated power to a threshold power level; and

control said plurality of switches based on the comparison.

7. A power distribution module in accordance with claim 6 , wherein said shunt resistor is coupled in series with at least one of said plurality of switches.

8. A power distribution module in accordance with claim 6 , wherein said plurality of switches comprises two switches.

9. A power distribution module in accordance with claim 6 , wherein to control said plurality of switches based on the comparison, said microprocessor is configured to:

maintain said plurality of switches in a closed position when the calculated power is less than or equal to the threshold power level; and

switch said plurality of switches from the closed position to an open position when the calculated power is greater than the threshold power level.

10. A power distribution module in accordance with claim 6 , wherein said plurality of power interruption circuits comprises eight power interruption circuits.

11. A method for controlling direct current (DC) power supplied to a load through a current interruption circuit, said method comprising:

determining, using a processing device, a digitized value of a current flowing through a shunt resistor in the current interruption circuit, the determining comprising:

amplifying a DC shunt voltage across the shunt resistor; and

converting the DC shunt voltage into a digitized value of the DC shunt voltage;

calculating a resistance of the shunt resistor based on a measured temperature of the shunt resistor; and

determining the digitized value of the current based on the digitized DC shunt voltage value and the calculated resistance;

calculating, using the processing device, a DC power provided by the current interruption circuit to the load, the power calculated from the digitized current value and the digitized output voltage value;

adjusting the calculated DC power to correct errors determined based on an age of the power distribution module;

comparing the calculated DC power to a threshold power level; and

controlling at least one switch in the current interruption circuit based on the comparison.

12. A method in accordance with claim 11 , wherein controlling at least one switch in the current interruption circuit based on the comparison comprises:

maintaining the at least one switch in a closed position when the calculated power is less than or equal to the threshold power level; and

switching the at least one switch from the closed position to an open position when the calculated power is greater than the threshold power level.

13. A method in accordance with claim 11 , wherein comparing the calculated power to a threshold power level comprises comparing the calculated power to a threshold power level of 100 Volt-amperes (VA).

14. A method in accordance with claim 11 , further comprising storing the calculated power on a memory device communicatively coupled to the processing device.