Low-latency smart grid asset monitoring for load control of energy-efficient buildings

In the smart grid, demand-side is tightly coupled with the condition of the smart grid assets such as the transformers in a substation, capacitor banks, relays, etc. A fault occurring in any of those assets or an incident causing power quality degradation within a distribution system may trigger load control actions in energy-efficient buildings. In case of such critical conditions, load control actions need to be activated in a timely manner. Therefore, the status of the smart grid assets needs to be monitored in near real-time. Recently, Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) have emerged as promising monitoring tools in many fields including military, health and critical infrastructures. However, transmitting delay-critical data in the smart grid via WSNs needs data prioritization and delay-responsiveness. In this paper, we evaluate the performance of two schemes, namely the delay-responsive, cross layer (DRX) data transmission scheme, and the fair and delay-aware cross layer (FDRX) data transmission scheme in various smart grid environments. We consider an outdoor substation, an underground transformer vault and an indoor power room. We show that DRX has lower end-to-end delay than FDRX. On the other hand, delivery ratio of both DRX and FDRX degrades in the outdoor substation when compared to the underground transformer vault. Furthermore, DRX and FDRX are able to satisfy the tight delay requirements of the smart grid.