The generic design of a high-traffic advanced metering infrastructure using ZigBee

A multi-interface ZigBee building area network (MIZBAN) for a high-traffic advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) for high-rise buildings was developed. This supports meter management functions such as Demand Response for smart grid applications. To cater for the high-traffic communication in these building area networks (BANs), a multi-interface management framework was defined and designed to coordinate the operation between multiple interfaces based on a newly defined tree-based mesh (T-Mesh) ZigBee topology, which supports both mesh and tree routing in a single network. To evaluate MIZBAN, an experiment was set up in a five-floor building. Based on the measured data, simulations were performed to extend the analysis to a 23-floor building. These revealed that MIZBAN yields an improvement in application-layer latency of the backbone and the floor network by 75% and 67%, respectively. This paper provides the design engineer with seven recommendations for a generic MIZBAN design, which will fulfill the requirement for demand response by the U.S. government, i.e. a latency of less than 0.25 s.http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/RecentIssue.jsp?punumber=9424hb201

Smart Grid Communications: Overview of Research Challenges, Solutions, and Standardization Activities

Optimization of energy consumption in future intelligent energy networks (or Smart Grids) will be based on grid-integrated near-real-time communications between various grid elements in generation, transmission, distribution and loads. This paper discusses some of the challenges and opportunities of communications research in the areas of smart grid and smart metering. In particular, we focus on some of the key communications challenges for realizing interoperable and future-proof smart grid/metering networks, smart grid security and privacy, and how some of the existing networking technologies can be applied to energy management. Finally, we also discuss the coordinated standardization efforts in Europe to harmonize communications standards and protocols.Comment: To be published in IEEE Communications Surveys and Tutorial

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

Privacy In The Smart Grid: An Information Flow Analysis

Project Final Report prepared for CIEE and California Energy Commissio

Review of state-of-the-art wireless technologies and applications in smart cities

There are increasing preferences to employ wireless communication technologies for high mobility, high scalability and low-cost applications in smart city development. This paper gives a brief synopsis of typical wireless technologies in smart city applications and the comparison analysis between them. The trend for smart city wireless technology is also presented. Examples, for several key applications within smart city development (healthcare, smart grid, localization) are studied and current advanced solutions supporting these applications are summarized with futuristic trends and demands are presented

Communication technology selection method for smart energy metering based on analytic hierarchy process

As new communication technologies continue to emerge and the integration of these technologies into the modernization of the electricity grid becomes increasingly necessary, a variety of communication protocols and combinations are being explored for their potential use in the smart grid domain. However, given the multitude of technological possibilities available, choosing the optimal technology capable of adequately addressing the communication requirements of the intelligent grid remains a challenge for utilities. This is due, on the one hand, to the fact that different intelligent grid applications have different qualitative and quantitative communication requirements. Moreover, on the other hand, each technology has advantages and disadvantages concerning its performance characteristics in such requirements. This work uses the AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) methodology to select the wireless technology that presents the best performance characteristics concerning determined requirements. For this, a computational algorithm was developed in the Matlab programming environment, through which criteria such as data rate, latency, range, security, reliability, and interoperability were compared to select the best technological alternative among Wi-Fi, ZigBee, Z-Wave, and Bluetooth. Data collected from the literature review, with the performance characteristics of these technologies, were applied in a single case study simulating the practical implementation of this work. Among the analyzed criteria, simulations demonstrated that Wi-Fi was the winning technology alternative with 32.353%, followed by Z-Wave with 29.865% in second place, and ZigBee and Bluetooth were ranked third and fourth with 25.255% and 12.527%, respectively. In addition, sensitivity analysis shows how the AHP methodology can be a feasible alternative to assist decision-making in the smart grid domain.À medida que novas tecnologias de comunicação continuam a surgir e a integração destas tecnologias na modernização da rede elétrica se torna cada vez mais necessária, uma variedade de protocolos e combinações de tecnologias de comunicação vem sendo explorados para a sua potencial utilização no domínio da rede inteligente. No entanto, dada a multiplicidade de possibilidades tecnológicas disponíveis, a escolha da melhor tecnologia capaz de responder, adequadamente, aos requisitos de comunicação da rede elétrica inteligente continua sendo um desafio para diferentes atores interessados. Isto se deve, por um lado, ao fato de diferentes aplicações de rede inteligente terem diferentes requisitos de comunicação, quer sejam quantitativos ou qualitativos. Além disso, por outro lado, cada tecnologia tem vantagens e desvantagens relacionadas com as suas características de desempenho em tais requisitos. Este trabalho, portanto, utiliza a metodologia AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) para selecionar a tecnologia sem fios que apresenta as melhores características de desempenho relativamente a determinados requisitos. Para tal, foi desenvolvido um algoritmo computacional no ambiente de programação Matlab, através do qual critérios tais como taxa de dados, latência, alcance, segurança, confiabilidade e interoperabilidade foram comparados para selecionar a melhor alternativa tecnológica entre Wi-Fi, ZigBee, Z-Wave e Bluetooth. Os dados coletados na revisão de literatura, com as características de desempenho destas tecnologias, foram aplicados num único estudo de caso simulando a implementação prática deste método em ambiente residencial. Dentre os critérios analisados, as simulações demonstraram que o Wi-Fi foi a alternativa tecnológica vencedora com 32,353%, seguido pelo Z-Wave com 29,865% em segundo lugar, e ZigBee e Bluetooth ficaram em terceiro e quarto lugar com 25,255% e 12,527%, respectivamente. Além disso, a análise de sensibilidade, dos resultados, mostra como a metodologia AHP pode ser uma alternativa viável para auxiliar na tomada de decisões no domínio da rede inteligente

M2M Communications for E-Health and Smart Grid: An Industry and Standard Perspective

An overview of several standardization activities for machine-to-machine (M2M) communications is presented, analyzing some of the enabling technologies and applications of M2M in industry sectors such as Smart Grid and e-Health. This summary and overview of the ongoing work in M2M from the industrial and standardization perspective complements the prevalent academic perspective of such publications to date in this field

A survey on smart grid communication infrastructures: Motivations, requirements and challenges

A communication infrastructure is an essential part to the success of the emerging smart grid. A scalable and pervasive communication infrastructure is crucial in both construction and operation of a smart grid. In this paper, we present the background and motivation of communication infrastructures in smart grid systems. We also summarize major requirements that smart grid communications must meet. From the experience of several industrial trials on smart grid with communication infrastructures, we expect that the traditional carbon fuel based power plants can cooperate with emerging distributed renewable energy such as wind, solar, etc, to reduce the carbon fuel consumption and consequent green house gas such as carbon dioxide emission. The consumers can minimize their expense on energy by adjusting their intelligent home appliance operations to avoid the peak hours and utilize the renewable energy instead. We further explore the challenges for a communication infrastructure as the part of a complex smart grid system. Since a smart grid system might have over millions of consumers and devices, the demand of its reliability and security is extremely critical. Through a communication infrastructure, a smart grid can improve power reliability and quality to eliminate electricity blackout. Security is a challenging issue since the on-going smart grid systems facing increasing vulnerabilities as more and more automation, remote monitoring/controlling and supervision entities are interconnected. © 1998-2012 IEEE

Engine performance characteristics and evaluation of variation in the length of intake plenum

In the engine with multipoint fuel injection system using electronically controlled fuel injectors has an intake manifold in which only the air flows and, the fuel is injected into the intake valve. Since the intake manifolds transport mainly air, the supercharging effects of the variable length intake plenum will be different from carbureted engine. Engine tests have been carried out with the aim of constituting a base study to design a new variable length intake manifold plenum. The objective in this research is to study the engine performance characteristics and to evaluate the effects of the variation in the length of intake plenum. The engine test bed used for experimental work consists of a control panel, a hydraulic dynamometer and measurement instruments to measure the parameters of engine performance characteristics. The control panel is being used to perform administrative and management operating system. Besides that, the hydraulic dynamometer was used to measure the power of an engine by using a cell filled with liquid to increase its load. Thus, measurement instrument is provided in this test to measure the as brake torque, brake power, thermal efficiency and specific fuel consumption. The results showed that the variation in the plenum length causes an improvement on the engine performance characteristics especially on the fuel consumption at high load and low engine speeds which are put forward the system using for urban roads. From this experiment, it will show the behavior of engine performance