Designing a PLC modem for smart grids applications

Power Line Communication (PLC) is one of the most cost effective solutions to Smart Grids as it is both easy to install and requires no additional wiring. This makes it a promising technology that can be used to exploit the existing electrical infrastructure as a communication medium. Current research at Yildiz Technical University concerns PLC Modems for Bus Bar Systems and Smart Homes. Our research began with measuring the impedances from Bus Bar Systems to Transformers at Narrow Band PLC Frequencies. An Analog Front End (AFE03x) Chip manufactured by Texas Instruments was used in the design of a PLC Modem. A point-to-point communication was also implemented using a TMDSPLCV3 PLC Kit in order to better estimate the performance of the AFE chip and channel. Data rates, Bit Error rates and Signal-to-Noise ratios were plotted under different electric loads in the Smart Home laboratory. The results of the Impedance Bus Bar Systems and power line showed the suitability of PLC. Moreover, the AFE performance was satisfied under the various applications and a plc modem was designed based on a reference design.