Design How-To

Power line communications for smart meter

networks
Power Line Communication has evolved into a critical energy control networking technology
for the smart grid and consequently for smart meters. The growth in demand for data that
can be analyzed to benefit the utility and the consumer demands a technology that can offer
the reliability and performance that can satisfy this demand.
Power Line Communication is a technology that has been around for some time now and has
been widely accepted as a solution that can meet the requirements of what a smart meter
should do. Several countries in Europe have already rolled out smart meters in their regions
to deliver the functions that are required by the utility and the consumer to proactively take
action towards making the grid more efficient and smart. The PLC technology enables the
utility to add value to their maor assets ! the distribution network that is already in place and
using this as a means to facilitate the communication from the meter to the utility. "y re#using
the electricity distribution network for communication$ the utility can also re#use maintenance
tools and resources and thereby avoid costs for the maintenance of a specific
communication network. %ith any e&tensions to the electricity distribution network made$ the
communication network grows accordingly.
't is broadly believed that the growth of energy demand has outpaced the rate at which
energy generation can grow by traditional means. (dditionally$ many governments agree that
greenhouse gas emissions need to be contained to control or prevent climate change. The
necessity of moderni)ing the electric grid infrastructure around the world is both the
consequence of the limited investments made in it in the last decades$ as well as of the result
of new requirements that emerge in the safe integration of utility scale renewable energy
sources feeding into the transmission system. The active participation of consumers via
*emand Side +anagement ,*S+- and *emand .esponse ,*.- programs$ all of which are
advocated as sustainable solutions to the energy crisis.
"alancing generation and demand at a very granular scale requires the integration of
additional protection and control technologies that ensure grid stability. The concept of smart
grid has emerged$ along with the need for meters that provides information to the utility on
the energy consumption so that the utility can act according to the demands placed on it.
This has led to the concept of smart meters that enable the communication between the
utility and the consumer. "ecause communications is such a fundamental element of the
smart grid$ it is important and crucial that the communication methodology chosen is reliable
and consistent in its performance. *ue to this basic requirement for very high reliability$ wired
Varun Nagaraj, Ravi Pragasam, Echelon
Cororation
/01201341 35637 (+ E*T
2 comments
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communications are considered to be better than wireless communications. And within wired
communications, Power Line Communications is the dominant technology that has been
delivering the performance and reliability required for this market.
What is PLC?
Power Line Communications (PLC systems operate by impressing a modulated carrier
signal on the wiring system. !ifferent types of power line communications use different
frequency bands, depending on the signal transmission characteristics of the power wiring
used. !ata rates and distance limits vary widely over many power line communication
standards. Low"frequency (about #$$%&$$ k '( carriers impressed on high"voltage
transmission lines may carry one or two analog voice circuits, or telemetry and control
circuits with an equivalent data rate of a few hundred bits per second) however, these circuits
may be many miles long. 'igher data rates generally imply shorter ranges) a local area
network operating at millions of bits per second may only cover one floor of an office building,
but eliminates the need for installation of dedicated network cabling.
PLC offers the simplest type of installation out of all the neighborhood area network (*A*
access technologies and does not need any e+tra work other than installing the meter
hardware. ,hen competing solutions based on ,ireless technology such as -P./ and .0
1esh only PLC offers the following advantages2
3 *o installation of additional communication wiring
3 Communication is seamlessly established with powering up of the device
3 *o communication cables or equipment can be removed or tampered with during
operation
Why PLC for smart meters?
4n general, the distribution network made up of power lines are a hostile environment that
makes the accurate propagation of communication signals difficult as they were designed to
carry power and not data. ,hen transmitting data over the power lines, there is a lot of
e+posure for this data to be negatively impacted because of the presence of many electrical
devices connected to these lines. 5hese other devices connected to the power lines are
noise sources or noise impairments that can have an adverse effect on the communication of
control data. 6ther factors that can impact the performance of a power line network is
number and types of devices on the power lines and their switching functionality along with
the distance between the transmitter and receiver of the PLC network. 5hese factors have to
be addressed to ensure that the PLC network is reliable and dependable. 7y overcoming the
challenges of communicating over a PLC network, the data that is being communicated can
now be used effectively to render the grid smart and make it work for the utility and the
consumer.
Figure: Typical architecture of a PLC based smart metering network
PLC standards
5he 8uropean Committee for 8lectrotechnical /tandardi(ation (C8*8L8C together with the
85/4 and the 8uropean Committee for /tandardi(ation (C8* form the 8uropean system for
technical standardi(ation that defined the narrow band frequencies to be in the range
between 9 -150 KHz. The carrier frequency for CENELEC A-an! i" between 9 # 95 KHz$ for
CENELEC -an! the carrier frequency i" between 95 # 1%5 KHz an! the CENELEC C-
an! i" between 1%5 # 1&0 KHz. 'ower (ine tran"cei)er" can be u"e! in the CENELEC A-
ban! an! CENELEC C-ban!. The A-ban! i" re"er)e! by (aw in CENELEC-re*u(ate!
countrie" for the e+c(u"i)e u"e of uti(itie" an! their (icen"ee". The C-ban! i" a)ai(ab(e for
con"u,er an! co,,ercia( u"e without re"triction$ but a co,,on acce"" -rotoco( an! co-
e+i"tence -rotoco( i" ,an!ate!. .hen u"e! in A-ban! ,o!e$ tran"cei)er" "hou(! "u--ort
two channe(" within thi" ban!$ one centere! at /5 0Hz an! the other at 12 0Hz. .hen u"e!
in C-ban! ,o!e$ tran"cei)er" a("o "u--ort two channe("$ one centere! at 115 0Hz an! the
other centere! at 13% 0Hz. The rationa(e for two channe(" i" that if one i" b(oc0e!$ it i"
un(i0e(y that the other i" b(oc0e! by a har,onic of the -ower (ine i,-air,ent.
Power line challenges and PLC
4nter,ittent noi"e "ource"$ i,-e!ance chan*e"$ an! attenuation ,a0e the -ower (ine a
ho"ti(e "i*na(in* en)iron,ent. 'ower Line Co,,unication" techno(o*y incor-orate a )ariety
of technica( inno)ation" to en"ure re(iab(e o-eration "uch a"5
6 7nique !ua( carrier frequency feature that auto,atica((y "e(ect" an a(ternate "econ!ary
co,,unication frequency "hou(! the Hi*h(y efficient$ -atente!$ (ow-o)erhea! forwar! error
correction 89EC: a(*orith, to o)erco,e error" in!uce! by noi"e;
6 <o-hi"ticate! !i*ita( "i*na( -roce""in*$ noi"e cance((ation$ an! !i"tortion correction
a(*orith," inte*rate! into the 'ower Line Co,,unication" tran"cei)er that correct for a wi!e
)ariety of "i*na(in* i,-e!i,ent"$ inc(u!in* i,-u("i)e noi"e$ continuou" tone noi"e$ an!
-ha"e !i"tortion;
6 Hi*h out-ut$ (ow !i"tortion e+terna( a,-(ifier circuit" u"e! on the tran",i""ion that can
!e(i)er 1A--- into (ow i,-e!ance (oa!"$ e(i,inatin* the nee! for e+-en"i)e -ha"e cou-(er"
in ty-ica( a--(ication".
6 Location of "i,-(e hi*h--a"" fi(ter (ocate! between the 'ower Line Co,,unication"
Tran"cei)er an! the -ower ,ain". Thi" circuitry -ro)i!e" "ur*e an! (ine tran"ient -rotection
in a!!ition to b(oc0in* the (ow frequency$ 50Hz=20Hz AC ,ain" "i*na(.
The co,bination of the"e "-ecia( feature" enab(e the 'ower Line <,art Tran"cei)er" to
o-erate re(iab(y in the -re"ence of con"u,er e(ectronic"$ -ower (ine interco,"$ ,otor noi"e$
e(ectronic ba((a"t"$ !i,,er"$ an! other ty-ica( "ource" of interference. The 'ower Line
Co,,unication" Tran"cei)er" can co,,unicate o)er )irtua((y any AC or >C -ower ,ain"$
a" we(( a" un-owere! twi"te! -air$ by way of a (ow-co"t$ e+terna( cou-(in* circuit.
Conclusion
.ith an in"ta((e! ba"i" of o)er "e)era( ,i((ion ,eterin* -oint" in Euro-e$ 'LC i" by far the
,o"t co,,on(y u"e! co,,unication techno(o*y for ",art ,eterin*. The e(ectricity networ0
wa" not !e"i*ne! to be u"e! a" a co,,unication channe(; howe)er$ 'LC techno(o*y i"
,ature enou*h to !ea( with e)en the ,o"t cha((en*in* en)iron,ent". 9i(ter technique"$
-ower (ine tran"cei)er" with "-ecia( functiona( ><' b(oc0"$ fi(terin* technique" an!
"o-hi"ticate! routin* a(*orith," a(( *uarantee )ery robu"t co,,unication.
?n(y a ,ature co,,unication techno(o*y "uch a" 'LC offer" the co,,unication re(iabi(ity
nece""ary to rea! hun!re!" of thou"an!" of ,eterin* -oint" at an acce-tab(e co"t e)ery
!ay.
A!!itiona((y$ ,eter in"ta((ation i" a" "i,-(e a" connectin* the ,eter to the ,ain" an!
require" no a!!itiona( wor0 an! by u"in* 'LC techno(o*y$ a uti(ity ha" fu(( contro( o)er it"
!i"tribution networ0. <,art ,eterin* ba"e! on 'LC i" the fir"t "te- towar!" fu((y rea(izin* the
fu(( -otentia( of a ",art *ri!.
Courtesy of EETimes Europe
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