Estudio de la recepción del estándar de radio digital DRM (Digital Radio Mondiale) en onda media en interiores

Los sistemas de radio digital para la banda de Onda Media (DRM y HD Radio IBOC) son muy sensibles a la variación del campo eléctrico ya que el umbral entre la recepción correcta e incorrecta es muy abrupto y no gradual como en los sistemas analógicos. Se han llevado a cabo numerosas campañas de medidas en exteriores durante la última década y se han podido observar desvanecimientos importantes sobre todo en entornos urbanos. Dado que se presupone que muchos potenciales usuarios de los servicios de radio digital se situarán en interiores, es necesario caracterizar la recepción de señales en Onda Media en el interior de edificios, además de actualizar los niveles de ruido radioeléctrico, ya que se han podido detectar incrementos de nivel considerables en entornos urbanos exteriores. En esta tesis se han llevado a cabo extensas campañas de medidas en el interior de edificios con el objetivo de caracterizar estadísticamente la variabilidad espacial y temporal tanto de la señal como del ruido radioeléctrico en Onda Media en este tipo de entornos. El objetivo sería ofrecer las herramientas más precisas posibles para el cálculo o caracterización de la relación señal a ruido en interiores en Onda Media, de forma que los operadores de red puedan realizar una correcta planificación de red

Upgrading Urban Services Through BPL: Practical Applications for Smart Cities

Current initiatives related to smart cities in LATAM reveal an increasing interest in the improvement of cities and the wellbeing of their citizens. In addition, specific working groups have been created for this purpose. In this sense, the communication technologies set the basis for gathering, transporting, and managing the large amount of data generated in cities to provide a wide range of services. Within the many alternatives available, BPL positions as a promising technology, since smart cities can greatly benefit of its higher data rates and low latency. In addition, since the medium is already deployed and most of the assets and sensors are connected to the same medium, the cost of the communication systems will be reduced in price and simplicity. The work presents four practical applications: smart buildings, urban lighting, energy assets management and broadband access, in which the possibilities and advantages of BPL are further addressed. Finally, some conclusions and key aspects relating BPL to the success of smart cities are identified.Eusko Jaurlaritza IT-1234-19, KK-202

Field Trials for the Characterization of Non-Intentional Emissions at Low-Voltage Grid in the Frequency Range Assigned to NB-PLC Technologies

The paper describes the results of a measurement campaign to characterize the non-intentional emissions (NIE) that are present in the low voltage section of the electrical grid, within the frequency range assigned to narrowband power line communications (NB-PLC), from 20 kHz to 500 kHz. These NIE may severely degrade the quality of the communications and, in some cases, even isolate the transmission devices. For this reason, the identification and characterization of these perturbations are important aspects for the proper performance of the smart grid services based on PLC. The proper characterization of NIE in this frequency range is a key aspect for the selection of efficient configurations to find the best trade-off between data throughput and robustness, or even for the definition of new improved error detection and correction methods. The huge number of types of NIE, together with the wide variety of grid topologies and loads distribution (density and location of homes and industrial facilities) are great challenges that complicate the thorough characterization of NIE. This work contributes with results from field trials in different scenarios, the identification of different types of NIE and the characterization both in time and frequency domains of all the registered disturbances. This contribution will be helpful for a better knowledge of the electrical grid as a transmission medium for PLC and, therefore, for evaluating the appropriateness of different robustness techniques to be applied in the next generation of smart grid services.This work was funded in part by the Basque Government under the grants IT1234-19 and Elkartek KK-2018/00037 and the Spanish Government under the grant RTI2018-099162-B-I00 (MCIU/AEI/FEDER-UE)

Smart Grid Applications for a Practical Implementation of IP over Narrowband Power Line Communications

Abstract Currently, Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) systems have equipped the low voltage section with a communication system that is being used mainly for metering purposes, but it can be further employed for additional applications related to the Smart Grid (SG) concept. This paper explores the potential applications beyond metering of the available channel in a Power Line Communication-based AMI system. To that end, IP has been implemented over Narrow Band-Power Line Communication (NB-PLC) in a real microgrid, which includes an AMI system. A thorough review of potential applications for the SG that might be implemented for this representative case is included in order to provide a realistic analysis of the potentiality of NB-PLC beyond smart metering. The results demonstrate that existing AMI systems based on NB-PLC have the capacity to implement additional applications such as remote commands or status signals, which entails an added value for deployed AMI systems.This work has been partially funded by the Basque Government (IT.683-13 and ELKARTEK KK-2017/00071

On-field evaluation of the performance of IP-based data transmission over narrowband PLC for smart grid applications

[EN] One of the current efforts for the grid modernization is the deployment of Advanced Metering Infrastructure systems. Regarding AMI technologies, NarrowBand PLC is one of the most spread technologies worldwide. While current AMI deployments based on NB-PLC focus on metering applications, this work addresses the operation of IP over NB-PLC for Smart Grid applications. IP is a well-established standard that might become the key enabler for the interoperability amongst numerous applications for the Smart Grid. In this scenario, on-field measurements become essential to test the coexistence of AMI systems and data transmission beyond metering applications. This paper analyses the configurations and parameters that affect the performance of IP over PRIME such as the number of nodes in the subnetwork, switching levels and transport layer protocols, among others. Results show that the topology of the subnetwork plays a key role for the resulting data rates and provide a meaningful contribution towards the implementation of new applications over NB-PLC based on IP data transmission

Characterization of non-intentional emissions from distributed energy resources up to 500 kHz: A case study in Spain

[EN] Narrow Band Power Line Communications (NB-PLC) systems are currently used for smart metering and power quality monitoring as a part of the Smart Grid (SG) concept. However, non-intentional emissions generated by the devices connected to the grid may sometimes disturb the communications and isolate metering equipment. Though some research works have been recently developed to characterize these emissions, most of them have been limited to frequencies below 150 kHz and they are mainly focused on in-house electronic appliances and lightning devices. As NB-PLC can also be allocated in higher frequencies up to 500 kHz, there is still a lack of analysis in this frequency range, especially for emissions from Distributed Energy Resources (DERs). The identification and characterization of the emissions is essential to develop solutions that avoid a negative impact on the proper performance of NB-PLC. In this work, the non-intentional emissions of different types of DERs composing a representative microgrid have been measured in the 35–500 kHz frequency range and analyzed both in time and frequency domains. Different working conditions and coupling and commutation procedures to mains are considered in the analysis. Results are then compared to the limits recommended by regulatory bodies for spurious emissions from communication systems in this frequency band, as no specific limits for DERs have been established. Field measurements show clear differences in the characteristics of non-intentional emissions for different devices, working conditions and coupling procedures and for frequencies below and above 150 kHz. Results of this study demonstrate that a further characterization of the potential emissions from the different types of DERs connected to the grid is required in order to guarantee current and future applications based on NB-PLC.This work has been financially supported in part by the Basque Government (Elkartek program)

Characterization of the Potential Effects of EMC Filters for Power Converters on Narrowband Power Line Communications

Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) filters are one of the main solutions for dealing with the disturbances generated by power inverters. However, they show series/parallel resonances that introduce variations in the impedance seen from the grid. Consequently, in some cases, these filters have low impedances at resonance frequencies, which can affect Narrowband Power Line Communications (NB-PLC) due to notching effects. For that reason, the potential effects of four EMC filters on NB-PLC have been studied. Laboratory trials in a controlled environment have been carried out, in which the attenuation and the Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) thresholds that define the communication’s quality have been studied. The results presented in this paper show that, although the variations of the channel frequency response are not selective enough to degrade the communication thresholds, the attenuation measured when the filter is connected near the receiver might be sufficiently high to be critical for the communications in some situations. Therefore, EMC filters might have a negative impact on NB-PLC that had not been previously considered.This research was funded by the BASQUE GOVERNMENT, grant number IT1234-19 and SPANISH GOVERNMENT, grant number RTI2018-099162-B-I00 (MCIU/AEI/FEDER-UE)

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”)

A new voltage probe with improved performance at the 10 kHz–500 kHz frequency range for field measurements in LV networks

[EN] Voltage measurements in the frequency range from 10 kHz to 500 kHz are used to quantify the level of the Narrow Band Power Line Communication transmitted signals, the noise and the non-intentional conducted emissions generated by the devices connected to the Low Voltage grid. Considering that the voltage levels within this frequency range are very small if compared to measurements below 2 kHz, measuring equipment of higher precision is needed, but existing standards do not currently cover this frequency band. In this paper, a voltage adapter with improved performance at the 10 kHz–500 kHz frequency range for field measurements in LV networks is presented. Moreover, a measurement setup and methodology for the frequency-dependent characterization of this type of voltage adapters is described, which is used to demonstrate the outperformance of the designed probe with respect to four commercial devices.This work has been financially supported in part by the Basque Government (Elkartek program and IT-683-13)

Statistical relationship between RMS and QP spectra of voltage measurements in the 9–150 kHz range

The main objective of this work is to obtain an empirical relationship between the root-mean-square and the quasi-peak spectra of voltage recordings in the electrical grid, based on a statistical analysis of a set of on-field measurements for the CISPR Band A (9–150 kHz). The lack of a relationship between the weighting root-mean-square and quasi-peak detectors implies the impossibility of calculating quasi-peak (QP) spectra from root-mean-square (RMS) measurements. It is of great interest that quasi-peak values can be estimated by simple calculations from RMS values, so that comparison to compatibility levels could be applied. This work defines an empirical relationship between the statistical variation of instantaneous RMS values over time, the maximum RMS value of these instantaneous values and the QP output. This relationship is described in the form of a simple equation that can be applied to RMS provided by the RM-A method, specifically developed for the CISPR Band A. A method for the fast assessment of QP values from simple RMS receivers is proposed as a potential application of the numerical RMS-QP relationship. Both the numerical RMS-QP relationship and its application as a simple and fast assessment method are evaluated with disturbances recorded in the low voltage grid.This project (18NRM05) has received funding from the EMPIR program co-financed by the Participating States and from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program. This work was funded in part by the Basque Government under the grants IT1436–22 and PRE_2022_2_0074. This work was supported in part through grant PID2021–124706OB-I00 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by ERDF A way of making Europe