Effects of plasma lamps on the power-line communications channel

Plasma is one of the states of matter. The other states of matter are liquids, solids and gases. Plasma is used in television, neon signs and fluorescent lights. Stars, lightning, aurorae and most flames consist of plasma. Although energy effective, they inject conductive noise into the power-line system. This can have a detrimental effect on the power-line communications channel. This paper investigates these effects when plasma lamps are seen as noise sources on the power line. It is shown that in the CENELEC band: (3kHz-150kHz) the interference level from Plasma lamps is significantly below the allowed maximum PLC signal levels. In the band 150kHz-30MHz however, PLC signals compete with Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) levels and the SNR can be equal to zero, but only if the lamps have active power electronic converters.