Improving the reliability of wireless data communication in Smart Grid NAN

Abstract

The communication network of a Smart Grid has a three-level hierarchical structure consisting of Home Area Network (HAN), Neighborhood Area Network (NAN) and Wide Area Network (WAN). Wireless communication, due to its advantages, is identified as a potential candidate for Smart Grid communications, especially in HAN and NAN. However, wireless transmission is inherently unreliable, whereas communication reliability is one of the fundamental requirements of Smart Grid applications. In this paper, a two-layer communication model based on IEEE reference grids is considered for NAN and a method based on transmission redundancy is proposed to improve the reliability of wireless communications in NAN, while the communication delay requirement of the Smart Grid is considered as a restriction. The proposed method finds the optimum number of transmissions at each hop with respect to the loss probability and total delay constraints. Comparing the proposed method to the case of an equal number of transmissions for all the hops, it is shown by analysis that the proposed method achieves a superior reliability while meeting the delay requirement. In addition, the simulation-based evaluation of the proposed method supports the validity of the results obtained from the analytical model.