Noise Sources, Effects and Countermeasures in Narrowband Power-Line Communications Networks: A Practical Approach

Gregorio López, José Ignacio Moreno, Eutimio Sánchez, Cristina Martínez and Fernando Martín
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Gregorio López: Telematics Engineering Department, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Avenida de la Universidad 30, 28911 Madrid, Spain
José Ignacio Moreno: Telematics Engineering Department, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Avenida de la Universidad 30, 28911 Madrid, Spain
Eutimio Sánchez: Smart Grids Area, Energy & Environment Division, Fundación Tecnalia Research & Innovation, Parque Tecnológico de Bizkaia, 700, 48160 Derio, Spain
Cristina Martínez: Application Engineering Division, ZIV Metering Solutions, Parque Tecnológico de Bizkaia, 210, 48170 Zamudio, Spain
Fernando Martín: Smart Grid Operation & Maintenance Division, Unión Fenosa Distribución, Antonio López 193, 28026 Madrid, Spain

Energies, 2017, vol. 10, issue 8, 1-42

Abstract: The integration of Distributed Generation, Electric Vehicles, and storage without compromising the quality of the power delivery requires the deployment of a communications overlay that allows monitoring and controlling low voltage networks in almost real time. Power Line Communications are gaining momentum for this purpose since they present a great trade-off between economic and technical features. However, the power lines also represent a harsh communications medium which presents different problems such as noise, which is indeed affected by Distributed Generation, Electric Vehicles, and storage. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the types of noise that affects Narrowband Power Line Communications, including normative noises, noises coming from common electronic devices measured in actual operational power distribution networks, and noises coming from photovoltaic inverters and electric vehicle charging spots measured in a controlled environment. The paper also reviews several techniques to mitigate the effects of noise, paying special attention to passive filtering, as for being one of the most widely used solution to avoid this kind of problems in the field. In addition, the paper presents a set of tests carried out to evaluate the impact of some representative noises on Narrowband Power Line Communications network performance, as well as the effectiveness of different passive filter configurations to mitigate such an impact. In addition, the considered sources of noise can also bring value to further improve PLC communications in the new scenarios of the Smart Grid as an input to theoretical models or simulations.

Keywords: Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI); Distributed Energy Resources (DER); Distributed Generation (DG); Electric Vehicle (EV); Narrowband Powerline Communications (NB-PLC); noise; PoweRline Intelligent Metering Evolution (PRIME); Smart Grids; supraharmonics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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