Power Line Communication Solution Research Articles

Disturbance and Signal Filter for Power Line Communication

Today, to use home automation, intelligent home controls or remote controls in the office, electronic equipment is moving away from wireless communication in favor of Power Line Communication (PLC). In the standard PLC solutions, the corrections that result from error transmissions are based on complex digital modulation methods and algorithms for validating the transmitted data without paying attention to the causes of the errors. This article focuses on the implementation of a filtering system for interference and signals in the 120–150 kHz band (CENELEC band C), which is injected into the network by transmitters. Such a filter separates the desired signal from the interference that is occurring in the network, which can result in communication errors. Moreover, when used properly, the filter can be used as a subsystem separation element. The paper presents the requirements, design, construction, simulation and test results that were obtained under actual operating conditions. It is possible to use less complex methods for correcting errors in transmission signals and to guarantee an improvement in the transmission rate using the proposed filter system.

Channel Estimation Based on Compressed Sensing Technique for Low-Voltage Power Line Communication

Broadband low-voltage power line communication (PLC) has many advantages including less investment cost, construction speed, and convenient access. Since the orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) technology has strong anti-jamming and anti-frequency selective fading characteristics naturally it becomes a better low voltage power line communication solution. We proposed an OFDM channel estimation method based on compressed sensing (CS) technique according to the channel characteristics of low-voltage power lines. CS algorithm in OFDM system was discussed and an orthogonal matching pursuit (OMP) algorithm was applied to reconstruct the PLC channel information. The simulation results showed that the communication channel estimation method based on CS technique was feasible in PLC system, and the validity of information transmission in OFDM systems can be enhanced.

A new low cost power line communication solution for smart grid monitoring and management

Modern smart grids require the improvement of measurement and communication infrastructures of distribution networks, at both medium voltage (MV) and low voltage (LV) levels. Distributed sensing and measurement systems are needed to provide all necessary data for grid monitoring, control and management, as well as for the implementation of a number of smart functionalities, such as remote control of distributed generators (DGs), real time analysis of power flows, automatic meter reading (AMR), demand side management (DSM), grid automation and so on [1]-[6]. Acquired network data include typical electrical network quantities and status variables (such as powers, voltages, currents, switches status, DGs power production, and remote commands) and also environmental and other parameters (temperatures, security or safety warning signals, etc.).

Concept of Power Line Communication solution for Mesh DC Micro grid based on CAN protocol

Recently, technologies related to smart grids have attracted more attention due to increasing the demand for renewable energy. One of the most important foundations of smart grids is commonly communications between energies services demands and responses. Almost all the operations on the grids are based on the communications, such as supervision, protection, and isolation. These operations request different requirements for data transmission. The communication technology needs to have high reliability, low latency, and a minimum throughput to guarantee interaction between elements. To limit wires, power line communication (PLC) is a natural choice to deliver bi-directional data transmission between network components to enable smart controller and management of the grid. This paper proposes a PLC solution as a data transmission method for the mesh type DC microgrid. This solution is designed to take advantage of a robust protocol of automotive network - Control Area Network (CAN). The presented architecture is thus intended to propose a PLC system compatible with CAN-bus to provide a safety protocol for DC microgrid with cost effective approach.

Power Line Communication Management of Battery Energy Storage in a Small-Scale Autonomous Photovoltaic System

Today an increasing number of batteries are equipped with a digital battery management system (BMS) either for safety issues or lifetime improvement, or for both. In order to avoid the use of dedicated wiring for communicating with these BMS, a power line communication (PLC) solution is proposed to communicate through the dc power line inherent in these systems. This solution is also designed to be directly compatible with the existing controller area network controllers integrated in a large number of commercially available microcontrollers. It uses a single carrier generator in order to generate a shared carrier signal on the bus. Each modem can modulate this common carrier signal by switching the impedance it presents on the bus. In a first part, this paper proposes an overview of the industrial context of this PLC solution, including simulation results and discussion of the theoretical limits of the system. Then, the digitization stage interfacing the controller to the power line is described and a first prototype is validated through discussion of experimental results obtained within an actual industrial environment.

Soft Decisions of D-PSK Demodulation for G3 OFDM Technology

G3-PLC, an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) power line communication solution, has recently gained a lot of attention. It supports the application of four types of baseband mapping modes in different environments. These modes typically require a hard-decision demodulation, which will lead to nearly 3dB preference loss. In this paper, we propose an improvement scheme for the baseband mapping modes by changing the constellation encoding method. The optimal soft decision algorithm which makes use of log likelihood ratio (LLR) of the probabilities is used in the demodulators. Simulation results show that the proposed scheme can outperformer previous algorithm.

Multitechnology (I-UWB and OFDM) Coexistent Communications on the Power Delivery Network

To improve the performance and to support novel command and control applications in the smart-grid context, novel or alternative transmission schemes can be used in combination with existent power-line communication (PLC) solutions that are based on multicarrier or narrowband single carrier modulation schemes. In this respect, it is fundamental to ensure the coexistence between different systems yet respecting electromagnetic-compatibility (EMC) constraints. We consider the deployment of impulsive-ultrawideband (I-UWB) modulation for low-data-rate PLC. First, we study the design of the modulation parameters as a function of the application scenario. We consider the in-home, the outdoor low-voltage, and the outdoor medium-voltage scenario. Furthermore, we discuss EMC aspects and, according to the norms, we derive the limits for the power spectral density of the I-UWB signal. Then, we study the coexistence between existing orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) PLC solutions and I-UWB when they (partly) share the spectrum. We focus on the physical layer and we perform the analysis in terms of maximum achievable rate. The results show that I-UWB is suitable for low-data-rate applications and, further, it can coexist with existing OFDM PLC systems.

Improved Baseband Mapping Method for G3 OFDM Technology

G3-PLC, an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) power line communication solution, has recently gained a lot of attention. It supports the application of four types of baseband mapping modes in different environments. These modes typically require a hard-decision demodulation, which will lead to nearly 3dB preference loss. In this paper, we propose an improvement scheme for the baseband mapping modes by changing the constellation encoding method. The optimal soft decision algorithm which makes use of log likelihood ratio (LLR) of the probabilities is used in the demodulators. Simulation results show that the proposed scheme can outperformer many existing algorithms.

Powerline Communication (PLC) on HVDC Bus in a Renewable Energy System

The management of the distribution of electrical energy generated from renewable sources such as solar and wind is a technology keylock to improve the performance and the stability of the overall energy transfer processes. Thus, researches on power lines used as communication supports are very promising for managing small and medium powered generator systems, which are not initially designed in a dependability approach. Additionally, this new possibilities of management allows improving the performance and the stability in the overall energy transfer process. The present study is particularly orientated to distributed architecture for managing parallel photovoltaic and/or wind sensors connected to high voltage DC (HVDC) bus and communication using power-line as communication vector (PLC). The PLC system using the modulation technique, allows the monitoring and information transfer concerning the local delivered powers and their variations, together with all information (temperature, shading area,…) necessary to optimize the energy production. Then, the aim of this work is the study of PLC solutions designed for working with HVDC bus especially for its integration in a global renewable energy system. The so- developed PLC circuits will be thus considered as interfaces between smart DC-DC converters and the HVDC bus. They will be based on a hardware part constituted by a transceiver integrating a modulation-demodulation interface with the HVDC bus and a signal processor able to operate the treatment of various information exchanged from and to the input sensors.