Noise analysis of a power-line communication channel in an LVDC smart grid concept

Author

Pinomaa, Antti ; Ahola, J. ; Kosonen, A. ; Nuutinen, Pasi

Author_Institution

Dept. of Electr. Eng., Lappeenranta Univ. of Technol. (LUT), Lappeenranta, Finland

fYear

2013

fDate

24-27 March 2013

Firstpage

41

Lastpage

46

Abstract

It has been shown that high-frequency (HF) band power-line communication (PLC) is a suitable data transmission method for the smart grid concept, namely a low-voltage direct current (LVDC) distribution system. In this paper, the PLC channel analysis in the LVDC system is continued with a detailed noise analysis. Noise signals from the terminals of PLC couplers are measured in the time domain. Noise power spectral densities (PSDs) are derived from the measured noise voltage, and the variation in the noise PSDs in the time domain is analyzed. The effects of noise on the performance of the HF band PLC are analyzed theoretically and by communication tests. The noise voltages are measured, and communication tests are carried out both in the LVDC laboratory system and in an LVDC field pilot system. The noise PSD is observed in the frequency band between 100 kHz and 30 MHz, which covers the band applied to the PLC in the channel. The results show that noise (mainly impulsive) in the channel has a major effect on the performance of the PLC.

Keywords

DC power transmission; carrier transmission on power lines; data communication; smart power grids; LVDC smart grid; PLC couplers; channel analysis; communication tests; data transmission; frequency 100 kHz to 30 MHz; high-frequency band power-line communication; laboratory system; low-voltage direct current distribution system; noise analysis; noise power spectral densities; noise signals; power-line communication channel; time domain; Couplers; Couplings; Laboratories; Noise; Noise measurement; Power cables; Rectifiers; Channel characteristics; low-voltage direct current (LVDC); noise; power-line communication (PLC); smart grid;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Power Line Communications and Its Applications (ISPLC), 2013 17th IEEE International Symposium on

Conference_Location

Johannesburg

Print_ISBN

978-1-4673-6014-2

Electronic_ISBN

978-1-4673-6015-9

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/ISPLC.2013.6525822

Filename

6525822