Abstract
This paper addresses the planning and deployment of wireless heterogeneous networks (WHNs) for smart metering, based on a cross-layer solution. We combine the constraints of the network layer that considers routing and flow demands at each link in the WHN, while at the same time, we account for the restrictions of the physical layer referred to the capacity of a short range technology when used in a multi-hop fashion. We propose a model based on a column generation approach to solve the capacitated multicommodity flow problem (CMCF); the model includes wireless links capacities, coverage, and cost. The work integrates the multi-hop routing of packets in a mesh network formed by smart meters and concentrators connected to a cellular network via base stations. The traffic of each link is represented in a multigraph with the occupation percentage, and we build a scalable routing tree on a georeferenced map to represent a real deployment. The results describe the behavior of the proposed model in terms of the traffic load per concentrator, the network coverage, and the reduction of energy consumption. We demonstrate that an infrastructure cost reduction is achieved with the inclusion of multi-hop short range technology, which reduces the number of smart meters that require a direct connection to cellular technology. The model guarantees 100% coverage of the smart meters analyzed in each scenario. The calculation time of the CMCF for advanced metering infrastructure (CMCF-AMI) based on the column generation algorithm as the population increases is reduced by 10%, and this is the expected return when the population is considerable.
Highlights
The advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), a fundamental component of the smart grid to support services such as automated reading, control of disconnections and re-connections, and modeling of electrical consumption behavior, among others, requires a bi-directional communications network that allows connectivity between the utilities and the electrical consumers of urban, suburban, and rural areas
We provide a scalable solution that considers a growing population of smart meters, in a way that the network may be flexible regarding the future locations of the nodes selected to be universal data aggregation points (UDAP); We provide a model that takes into account both the wireless links capacities and the capacity demands from the active AMI traffic flows; and
We proposed a novel strategy for the deployment of smart metering infrastructure based on wireless heterogeneous networks
Summary
The advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), a fundamental component of the smart grid to support services such as automated reading, control of disconnections and re-connections, and modeling of electrical consumption behavior, among others, requires a bi-directional communications network that allows connectivity between the utilities and the electrical consumers of urban, suburban, and rural areas. In the context of heterogeneous networking for AMI, we present a network model that employs different wireless technologies for short range connectivity, i.e., for enabling the smart meters (SM) to relay packets in a multi-hop fashion toward a concentrator, which in turn connects to a cellular network for communications to/from the utility. Previous works employed optimization problems to model a system that guarantees the coverage of smart meters in a heterogeneous network or to reduce the energy consumption and latency of end-to-end communications [12,13,14,15,16] Such works did not take into consideration the capacity of the wireless links, especially when restricted short range technologies were in use.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
