Simulation of Achievable Data Rates of Broadband Power Line Communication for Smart Metering

This paper presents results of such a simulation study. It is based on realistic PLC channel model implementation in Network Simulator 3, our modification and extension of this implementation for our use case scenario. It uses Shannon’s formula to calculate theoretical maximum channel capacity. In particular, it provides channel capacity and achievable distances of broadband PLC (BB-PLC). In this article we also exploit our novel idea of simple performance assessment of broadband PLC communication via simulation. It is supposed to be used to understand, evaluate, and test the grid configuration before deployment

Simulation-Based Evaluation of the Performance of Broadband over Power Lines with Multiple Repeaters in Linear Topology of Distribution Substations

Broadband over Power Lines (BPL) is considered a promising communication technology in the concept of Smart Grids. This paper evaluates networks based on BPL, with a focus on the impact of repeaters in the linear topology of distribution substations. In large-scale Smart Grids network planning, positions of repeaters have to be carefully chosen. This article should help to determine such positions and limitations of BPL linear topology networks. Laboratory and on-field measurements and their results are presented in this article. Results show the impact of repeater’s deployment for different testing methodologies also with regard to other already presented studies. Measured values and the determined impacts of repeaters are later used as input data for simulation of the linear BPL topology in terms of network throughput with multiple streams and bottlenecks. These occur especially on lines shared by multiple communicating nodes. Furthermore, the simulation investigates the balancing time of multiple data streams throughput. The simulation shows that the throughput balancing can occupy a significant time slot, up to tens of seconds before the throughput of different streams balances. Also, the more data is generated, the more time the balancing time takes. Additionally, the throughput drop caused by a repeater is determined into the range of 35–60%. Based on the measurement and simulation results, lessons learned are presented, and possible performance improvements are discussed

State-of-the-art in Power Line Communications: from the Applications to the Medium

In recent decades, power line communication has attracted considerable attention from the research community and industry, as well as from regulatory and standardization bodies. In this article we provide an overview of both narrowband and broadband systems, covering potential applications, regulatory and standardization efforts and recent research advancements in channel characterization, physical layer performance, medium access and higher layer specifications and evaluations. We also identify areas of current and further study that will enable the continued success of power line communication technology.Comment: 19 pages, 12 figures. Accepted for publication, IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications. Special Issue on Power Line Communications and its Integration with the Networking Ecosystem. 201

Communication Technologies for Smart Grid: A Comprehensive Survey

With the ongoing trends in the energy sector such as vehicular electrification and renewable energy, smart grid is clearly playing a more and more important role in the electric power system industry. One essential feature of the smart grid is the information flow over the high-speed, reliable and secure data communication network in order to manage the complex power systems effectively and intelligently. Smart grids utilize bidirectional communication to function where traditional power grids mainly only use one-way communication. The communication requirements and suitable technique differ depending on the specific environment and scenario. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive and up-to-date survey on the communication technologies used in the smart grid, including the communication requirements, physical layer technologies, network architectures, and research challenges. This survey aims to help the readers identify the potential research problems in the continued research on the topic of smart grid communications

Power line carrier technologies: a review

This paper gives an elaborate insight into the Power Line Carrier (PLC) communication technology in the power system. It explores the various characteristics, properties, and advancement of the power line carrier system and individual analysis of its components. These components, however, are in concerning power line carrier communications over high voltage lines majorly used in transmission stations. Power Line Carrier (PLC) components, including wave traps, coupling capacitors, line matching units, were highlighted. The paper discussed the operation principle of the Power Line Carrier (PLC) system together with their functionalities and how it makes transmission of information and power possible. It gives us the step by step functionalities of the different parts and how they make the information dispersion possible. A communication strategy was deployed for the effective transmission of data and information over the power line channel. Challenges were considered, solutions, and future directions for the advancements in the power line carrier system were also provided

Analyzing factors of GUI simulation as learning media toward students' learning outcomes

The use of simulation tools has been widely used to learn something. Simulation tools have the advantage of imitating a process similar to the actual situation. But there are only a few researches that examine the students' engagement in using simulation tools in the learning process so that it affects the student learning outcomes. This research aims to analyze the factors of GUI simulation as learning media for learning signal coding technique based. PLS-SEM method was used to investigate the impact and the relationship of factors of GUI simulation such as easiness of use, media attractiveness and learning content toward learning outcome. The results showed that the learning content factor gave a large and significant contribution toward learning outcomes, while easiness of use and media attractiveness made a small contribution to the learning outcomePeer Reviewe

Upgrading the Power Grid Functionalities with Broadband Power Line Communications: Basis, Applications, Current Trends and Challenges

This article reviews the basis and the main aspects of the recent evolution of Broadband Power Line Communications (BB-PLC or, more commonly, BPL) technologies. The article starts describing the organizations and alliances involved in the development and evolution of BPL systems, as well as the standardization institutions working on PLC technologies. Then, a short description of the technical foundation of the recent proposed technologies and a comparison of the main specifications are presented; the regulatory activities related to the limits of emissions and immunity are also addressed. Finally, some representative applications of BPL and some selected use cases enabled by these technologies are summarized, together with the main challenges to be faced.This work was financially supported in part by the Basque Government under the grants IT1426-22, PRE_2021_1_0006, and PRE_2021_1_0051, and by the Spanish Government under the grants PID2021-124706OB-I00 and RTI2018-099162-B-I00 (MCIU/AEI/FEDER, UE, funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by “ERDF A way of making Europe”)

LoRa Enabled Smart Inverters for Microgrid Scenarios with Widespread Elements

The introduction of low-power wide-area networks (LPWANs) has changed the image of smart systems, due to their wide coverage and low-power characteristics. This category of communication technologies is the perfect candidate to be integrated into smart inverter control architectures for remote microgrid (MG) applications. LoRaWAN is one of the leading LPWAN technologies, with some appealing features such as ease of implementation and the possibility of creating private networks. This study is devoted to analyze and evaluate the aforementioned integration. Initially, the characteristics of different LPWAN technologies are introduced, followed by an in-depth analysis of LoRa and LoRaWAN. Next, the role of communication in MGs with widespread elements is explained. A point-by-point LoRa architecture is proposed to be implemented in the grid-feeding control structure of smart inverters. This architecture is experimentally evaluated in terms of latency analysis and externally generated power setpoint, following smart inverters in different LoRa settings. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed LoRa architecture, while the settings are optimally configured. Finally, a hybrid communication system is proposed that can be effectively implemented for remote residential MG management

Header Compression and Signal Processing for Wideband Communication Systems.

This thesis is dedicated to the investigation, development and practical verification of header compression and signal processing techniques over TErrestrial Trunked RAdio (TETRA), TETRA Enhanced Data Services (TEDS) and Power Line Communication (PLC). TETRA release I is a narrowband private mobile radio technology used by safety and security organizations, while TEDS is a widebandsystem. With the introduction of IP support, TEDS enables multimedia based applications and services to communicate across communication systems. However the IP extension for TEDS comes at a cost of significant header contributions with the payload. With small application payloads and fast rate application traffic profiles, the header contribution in the total size of the packet is considerably more than the actual application payload. This overhead constitutes the considerable slot capacity at the physical layer of TEDS and PLC. Advanced header compression techniques such as Robust Header Compression (RoHC) compress the huge header sizes and offer significant compression gain without compromising quality of service (QoS). Systems can utilize this bandwidth to transmit more information payload than control information. In this study, the objective is to investigate the integration of RoHC in TEDS and design a novel IPv6 enabled protocol stack for PLC with integrated RoHC. The purpose of the study is also to investigate the throughput optimization technique such as RoHC over TEDS and PLC by simulating different traffic profile classes and to illustrate the benefit of using RoHC over TEDS and PLC. The thesis also aims to design and simulate the TEDS physical layer for the purpose of investigating the performance of higher order modulation schemes. Current TEDS, standards are based on the transmission frequencies above 400MHz range, however with delays in the standardization of broadband TETRA, it is important to explore all possible avenues to extend the capacity of the system. The research concludes the finding of the application of RoHC for TEDS and PLC, against different traffic classes and propagation channels. The benefit of using RoHC in terms of saving bandwidth, slot capacity and other QoS parameters is presented along with integration aspects into TEDS and PLC communication stacks. The study also presents the TEDS physical layer simulation results for modulation schemes and transmission frequency other than specified in the standard. The research results presented in this thesis have been published in international symposiums and professional journals. The application of the benefits of using RoHC for TEDS has been proposed to the ETSI TETRA for contribution to the TETRA standard under STF 378. Simulation results for the investigation of characteristics of ?/4 DQPSK performance below 200 MHz have also been also presented to ETSI TETRA as a contribution to the existing TEDS standard. The Results presented for the design of IPv6 enabled stacked with integrated RoHC have been submitted as deliverable under the FP-7 project DLC+VIT4IP. All the results, simulations and investigations presented in the thesis have been carried out through the platform provided by HW Communication Ltd

Internet of Things-aided Smart Grid: Technologies, Architectures, Applications, Prototypes, and Future Research Directions

Traditional power grids are being transformed into Smart Grids (SGs) to address the issues in existing power system due to uni-directional information flow, energy wastage, growing energy demand, reliability and security. SGs offer bi-directional energy flow between service providers and consumers, involving power generation, transmission, distribution and utilization systems. SGs employ various devices for the monitoring, analysis and control of the grid, deployed at power plants, distribution centers and in consumers' premises in a very large number. Hence, an SG requires connectivity, automation and the tracking of such devices. This is achieved with the help of Internet of Things (IoT). IoT helps SG systems to support various network functions throughout the generation, transmission, distribution and consumption of energy by incorporating IoT devices (such as sensors, actuators and smart meters), as well as by providing the connectivity, automation and tracking for such devices. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive survey on IoT-aided SG systems, which includes the existing architectures, applications and prototypes of IoT-aided SG systems. This survey also highlights the open issues, challenges and future research directions for IoT-aided SG systems