Power Line Carrier Communication

Vaibhav Rai EN III B Roll No. - 0902921115

Power Line Carrier Communication

( A report on seminar presented on the above topic )

Vaibhav Rai EN 6th Semester Section: B Roll No.: 0902921115 Session: 2011-12

INDEX
Introduction History Operating Principle Important Technical Parameters Application Security Advantages & Disadvantages Standards IEEE 1901

Introduction

Power line communication or power line carrier (PLC), also known as power line digital subscriber line (PDSL), mains communication, power line telecom (PLT), power line networking (PLN), or broadband over power lines (BPL) are systems for carrying data on a conductor also used for electric power transmission. Different communication technologies are being used for the transmission of information from one end to another depending on the feasibility and needs. Some include Ethernet cables, fibre optics, wireless transmission, satellite transmission, etc. A vast amount of information travels through the entire earth every day and it creates an essential need for a transmission medium that is not only fast but economically reasonable as well. One of the technologies that fit in the above stated criteria is PLCC. PLCC, Power Line Carrier Communication, is an approach to utilize the existing power lines for the transmission of information. In todays world every house and building has properly installed electricity lines. By using the existing AC power lines as a medium to transfer the information, it becomes easy to connect the houses with a high speed network access point without installing new wirings. This technology has been in wide use since 1950 and was mainly used by the grid stations to transmit information at high speed. Now a days this technology is finding wide use in building/home automation as it avoids the need of extra wiring. The data collected from different sensors is transmitted on these power lines thereby also reducing the maintenance cost of the additional wiring. In some countries this technology is also used to provide Internet connection.

History

The idea of using an existing medium to send the communication signals is as old as the telegraph itself. But it had not been possible until the recent decades. The first significant step in the field was when two patents were issued to American Telephone and Telegraph Company in the name of 'Carrier Transmission over Power Circuits' in 1920. After four years later in 1924 two other patents were filed for the systems transmitting and receiving communication signals over three phase power lines.

Harsh characteristics of the power cables were the key problem in further development. Researchers were involved to overcome the unpredictable characteristics of the power lines. Since the early 1980, spread spectrum power line communication was the main focus of the research. This technology is now developed far better than that initial improvement and is promising a reliable utilization in home automation and security systems.

Operating Principle
Power line communications systems operate by impressing a modulated carrier signal on the wiring system. Different types of power line communications use different frequency bands, depending on the signal transmission characteristics of the power wiring used. Since the power distribution system was originally intended for transmission of AC power at typical frequencies of 50 or 60Hz, power wire circuits have only a limited ability to carry higher frequencies. The propagation problem is a limiting factor for each type of power line communications. Data rates and distance limits vary widely over many power line communication standards. Low-frequency (about 100-200 kHz) carriers impressed on high-voltage transmission lines may carry one or two analog voice circuits, or telemetry and control circuits with an equivalent data rate of a few hundred bits per second; however, these circuits may be many miles long. Higher data rates generally imply shorter ranges; a local area network operating at millions of bits per second may only cover one floor of an office building, but eliminates the need for installation of dedicated network cabling. Power line carrier communication (PLCC) is mainly used for telecommunication, tele-protection and tele-monitoring between electrical substations through power lines at high voltages, such as 110 kV, 220 kV, 400 kV.[2] The major benefit is the union of two applications in a single system, which is particularly useful for monitoring electric equipment and advanced energy management techniques. The modulation generally used in these systems is amplitude modulation. The carrier frequency range is used for audio signals, protection and a pilot frequency. The pilot frequency is a signal in the audio range that is transmitted continuously for failure detection. The voice signal is compressed and filtered into the 300 Hz to 4000 Hz range, and this audio frequency is mixed with the carrier frequency. The carrier frequency is again filtered, amplified and transmitted. The transmission

power of these HF carrier frequencies will be in the range of 0 to +32 dbW. This range is set according to the distance between substations. PLCC can be used for interconnecting private branch exchanges (PBXs). To sectionalize the transmission network and protect against failures, a "wave trap" is connected in series with the power (transmission) line. They consist of one or more sections of resonant circuits, which block the high frequency carrier waves (24 KHz to 500 KHz) and let power frequency current (50 Hz - 60 Hz) pass through. Wave traps are used in switchyard of most power stations to prevent carrier from entering the station equipment. Each wave trap has a lightning arrester to protect it from surge voltages.

MODEM:The communication device used for the communication over the power lines is a MODEM, commonly known as Power Line MODEM (PLM). It works as both transmitter and receiver, i.e., it transmits and receives data over the power lines. A power line modem not only modulates the data to transmit it over the power lines and but also demodulates the data it receives from the power lines. By using modulation techniques, binary data stream is keyed on to a carrier signal and then coupled on to the power lines by PLM. At the receiver end another PLM detects the signal and extracts the corresponding bit stream.

A standalone PLC Modem by Archnet Technologies

PLC Modems/Transceivers:PLC Transceiver is the key component of a PLCC system. It is the device which transmits & receives data to & from the power lines and acts as a hub between the power stations and our Computers/Network utilization devices. They are wired with the electrical voltage lines at home or business and work on two modes transmit mode and receive mode. In transmit mode, they simply receive data from receiver end installed on the same network and further transmit them. In receive mode, they work the opposite way.

The above image shows the working of a PLCC system. Data is processed before transmission on power lines according to the above figure. First data is modulated & filtered and then by using couplers, it is sent over the power lines.

Modulation Techniques:Modulation techniques that opt for lower frequency ranges of 35 KHz to 95 KHz can perform better as compared to the ones using the whole available frequency band. OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) is the modulation technique that is used in HomePlug specification network

appliances. In OFDM, information is modulated on to multiple carriers, where each carrier occupies its own frequency in the range of 4.3 to 20.9 MHz Incoming bit stream is demultiplexed into N number of parallel bit streams each with 1/N of original bit rate which are then modulated on N orthogonal carriers. By using multiple carriers at a time, the modulation technique uses the available spectrum most efficiently. During the transmission, each frequency is monitored and if any interference, noise or data loss occurs, the responsible frequency is removed. However this technique does not perform well when a large attenuation and jamming occurs in the communication channel, but still it can be very efficient comparatively.

Imposing Signals On Power Lines:There are two different ways by which we can connect a PLC unit with the power lines capacitive coupling and inductive coupling. In capacitive coupling, a capacitor is used to superimpose the modulated signal on to the networks voltage waveform. Another way is inductive coupling which employs an inductor to couple the signal with the networks waveform. No physical connection is required to establish inductive coupling. This makes it safer as compared to capacitive coupling. However this method has higher tendency to lose the signal during coupling.

Important Technical Parameters in PLC Communication

Noise on Residential Power Circuit (RPC): A variety of noises may occur during the communication caused by the home appliances. Following are some of the types: 1. Noise synchronous to the power system frequency (50Hz or 60 Hz) This type of noise is generated because of different kind of switching devices. 2. Noise with a smooth spectrum The sources of such type of noise are the appliances that are not operating synchronously with the power line frequency. For example the small motors with several windings can generate such type of noise. 3. Single Event Impulse Noise Switching of devices, that contain a capacitor, generates such type of noise. The reason is sudden discharge of the capacitor in the RPC. 4. Periodic Noise The type of noise is generated by fluorescent lights, television receivers etc.

These are some ways to reduce the noise in between the communication over power lines: a. Implementation of Forward Error Correction (FEC) codes with interleaving can reduce the noise in category 1, 2 and 3. b. Frequency Hopping with the FEC coding can be implemented to deal with the unknown frequencies.

c. While modulating the signal on to the power lines, television line frequencies should be avoided.

Signal to Noise Ratio: Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) is a measurement of quality of the signal. It indicates the amount of the noise in a signal. SNR can be formulated in the following way: SNR = Received Power / Noise Power Increased SNR means increased performance of the communication system. By applying noise filters on household appliances, the noise entering into the power system can be reduced. However it will increase the cost of the appliances but is a better solution to improve overall performance.

Signal Attenuation: Signal attenuation is basically the reduction in strength of the signal. A signal attenuation of about 100dB/Km occurs for low voltage power lines and 10dB/km for high voltage lines. It creates a need of continuous repeaters over a fixed distance. A number of factors that are responsible for signal attenuation include distance, time, frequency of the signal, etc.

PLC Carrier Station: A PLC carrier repeating station is a facility, at which a power line communication (PLC) signal on a power line is refreshed. Therefore the signal is filtered out from the power line, demodulated and modulated on a new carrier frequency, and then re-injected onto the power line again. As

PLC signals can carry long distances (several 100 kilometres), such facilities only exist on very long power lines using PLC equipment.

Wave Trap: To sectionalize the transmission network and protect against failures, a "wave trap" is connected in series with the power (transmission) line. They consist of one or more sections of resonant circuits, which block the high frequency carrier waves (24 KHz to 500 KHz) and let power frequency current (50 Hz - 60 Hz) pass through. Wave traps are used in switchyard of most power stations to prevent carrier from entering the station equipment. Each wave trap has a lightning arrester to protect it from surge voltages.

Application of PLCC

Power line carrier systems have long been a favourite at many utilities because it allows them to reliably move data over an infrastructure that they control. Many technologies are capable of performing multiple applications. For example, a communication system bought initially for automatic meter reading can sometimes also be used for load control or for demand response applications. PLCC technology can be deployed into different types of applications in order to provide economic networking solutions. Hence merging with other technologies it proves useful in different areas. These are few key areas where PLC communications are utilized: Transmission And Distribution network: PLCC was first adopted in the electrical transmission and distribution system to transmit information at a fast rate. It is also helpful in monitoring various online devices like relays against faults and errors. Home Control And Automation: PLCC technology is used in home control and automation. This technology can reduce the resources as well as efforts for activities like power management, energy conservation, etc. Entertainment: PLCC is used to distribute the multimedia content throughout the home. Telecommunication: Data transmission for different types of communications like telephonic communication, audio, video communication can be made with the use of PLCC technology.

 Security System: In monitoring houses or businesses through surveillance cameras, PLCC technology is far useful. Automatic Meter Reading: Automatic Meter reading applications use the PLCC technology to send the data from home meters to Host Central Station. Home Networking: Power line communications can also be used in a home to interconnect home computers and peripherals, and home entertainment devices that have an Ethernet port. Broadband Over Power Line (BPL): Broadband over power line (BPL) is a system to transmit twoway data over the existing electrical distribution wiring in a metropolitan area.

Automotive Uses: Power-line technology enables in-vehicle network communication of data, voice, music and video signals by digital means over direct current (DC) battery power-line. Street Public Lighting Control and Monitoring: PLCC can be used to monitor public lightening system and also in controlling street lights.

Home Control & Automation: In modern homes, there is a huge requirement of sending digital information, audio, and video all over the home. Running new wires to support this will increase the burden and cost of maintenance. To overcome this, PLCC is the right choice to implement home automation concept. Home automation or also known as Smart Home technology is a collection of systems and devices in a home that have an ability to interact with each other or function individually in order to be optimized in best way. Using PLCC technology, existing power wirings of the house is used to connect home appliances with each other as well as with internet.

Architecture of a PLCC based home automation system is shown in the above image. Various home appliances are connected within a loop through the existing power cables. This technology can connect each device with the network which is connected to an AC outlet. All appliances are also connected with a centralized control panel which controls them.

Automatic Meter Reading: Automatic Meter Reading using PLCC technology is quite useful as it saves a lot of human efforts and also makes the whole system more efficient. The automatic meter reading system consists of three components, namely, Multifunction Node (MFN), Concentrator & Communication Node (CCN) and Operation & Management System (OMS). Different components and their inter-connections are shown in the figure.

AMR Network

MFN is a unit installed in household meters, either incorporated in the meter itself or externally connected to it. Its function is to take reading of the meter on an hourly basis and store it in a memory chip. CNN is another part which manages all MFNs within a particular area and collects meter readings from all MFNs. It is generally installed on substations and needs a computer. The computer is installed with Operation and Management System (OMS) which further manages all the data and meter readings from CNNs.

Home Networking (HomePlug): HomePlug is the family name for various power line communications specifications that support networking over existing home electrical wiring. Several specifications exist under the HomePlug moniker, with each offering unique performance capabilities and coexistence or compatibility with other HomePlug specifications. Some HomePlug specifications target broadband applications such as inhome distribution of low data rate IPTV, gaming, and Internet content, while others focus on low-power, low throughput, and extended operating temperatures for applications such as smart power meters and in-home communications between electric systems and appliances. All of the HomePlug specifications were developed by the HomePlug Powerline Alliance, which also owns the HomePlug trademark. The most widely deployed powerline networking devices are "adapters", which are standalone modules that plug into wall outlets (or power strips or extension cords) and provide one or more Ethernet ports. In a simple home network, the Internet gateway router connects via Ethernet cable to a powerline adapter, which in turn plugs into a nearby power outlet. A second adapter, plugged into any other outlet in the home, could connect via Ethernet cable to any Ethernet-enabled device (e.g., computer, printer, IP phone, gaming station). Data communications between the router and Ethernet devices would be conveyed over existing home electrical wiring. More complex networks with multiple adapters can be implemented by plugging in additional adapters as needed. A powerline adapter may also be plugged into a hub or switch so that it supports multiple Ethernet devices residing in a common room. HomePlug 1.0 HomePlug 1.0 was the first HomePlug specification. It provides a peak PHYrate of 14 Mbit/s. It was first introduced in June, 2001 and has since been replaced by HomePlug AV. On May 28, 2008 Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) incorporated HomePlug 1.0 powerline technology into the newly published TIA-1113 international standard. TIA-1113 defines modem operations on user-premises electrical wiring. The new standard is the

world's first multi-megabit powerline communications standard approved by an American National Standards Institute (ANSI)-accredited organization.

A Home Plug Adapter

There is also HomePlug 1.0 with Turbo adapters that still may be found on the market. These comply with the HomePlug 1.0 specification but feature a faster, proprietary mode that increases the peak PHY-rate to 85 Mbit/s.

Broadband over Power Line (BPL): Access Broadband Power Line (BPL) refers to a to-the-home broadband access technology. The HomePlug Alliance formed the HomePlug Access BPL Working Group, whose first charter was to develop the Market Requirements Document (MRD) for a HomePlug Access BPL specification. The Alliance made an open invitation to the BPL industry to participate in the development of or provide input for consideration in the MRD. After several months of collaboration between utilities, ISPs and other BPL industry groups, the MRD was completed in June 2005. HomePlug's work on the Access BPL was subsequently contributed and merged into the IEEE 1901 standard.

ATL60 (Acrhnet Technologies) series BroadBand Power Line Modem

The biggest advantage of BPL is its ease of use. It can be deployed in a fast and cost-effective manner at the place suitable for its implementation.

Security through PLCC: In monitoring houses or businesses through surveillance cameras, PLCC technology is far useful.

Surveillance Cameras

All the security and surveillance cameras can be centrally monitored using PLCC technology. The devices are connected to central monitoring unit using HomePlug adapters. This reduces the need of extra wiring reducing the installation cost in surveillance and monitoring devices. Monitoring of all the devices also becomes easier.

Entertainment: PLCC can be used to transfer multimedia contents on the pre installed wiring in any building. This reduces the cost of music sharing. Security measures needs to be taken more carefully while using such techniques as if not properly operated, it can damage our multimedia system.

Automotive applications: Power-line technology enables in-vehicle network communication of data, voice, music and video signals by digital means over direct current (DC) battery power-line. Advanced digital communication techniques tailored to overcome hostile and noisy environment are implemented in a small size silicon device. One power line can be used for multiple independent networks. The benefits would be lower cost and weight (compared to separate power and control wiring), flexible modification, and ease of installation. Potential problems in vehicle applications would include the higher cost of end devices, which must be equipped with active controls and communication, and the possibility of interference with other radio frequency devices in the vehicle or other places. Prototypes are successfully operational in vehicles, using automotive compatible protocols such as CAN-bus, LIN-bus over power line (DC-LIN) and [DC-bus].

A CAN-Bus Network

LonWorks power line based control has been used for an HVAC system in a production model bus. The SAE J1772 committee developing standard connectors for plug-in electric vehicles proposes to use power line communication between the vehicle, off-board charging station, and the smart grid, without requiring an additional pin; SAE and the IEEE Standards Association are sharing their draft standards related to the smart grid and vehicle electrification.

Street Public Lighting Control and Monitoring: There may be tens of thousands of street lamps in the streets and along the highways. To inspect each lamp to check if it is working is an arduous task. Isn't it nice to have a system, which will automatically report if a lamp in a Public Lighting System has broken down? The infrastructure required of such self-reporting function must be very complicated and the cost prohibitively high. The ARCHNET power line modem makes use of the power cable as a communication medium and data communication can take place between two points on a power line without the need of a dedicated signal wires. An ARCHNET power line modem and a sensor connected at the power source of the street lamp of a public lighting system can sense the current flow through the lamp, thus monitoring the operation of the street lamp. If the lamp breaks down, the modem will report the address code of the lamp report back to the monitoring station through the power cable. At the Public Lighting control station, a signal will flash on the screen giving the location of the street lamp. A repairman can then be sent immediately to the right location to check and replace the bulb.

Security of PLCC Devices

Since signals may travel outside the user's residence or business and be eavesdropped on, HomePlug includes the ability to set an encryption password. The HomePlug specification requires that all devices are set to a default out-of-box password although a common one. Users should change this password. On many new powerline adapters that come as a boxed pair, a unique security key has already been established and the user does not need to change the password, unless using these with existing powerline adapters, or adding new adapters. Some manufacturers supply adapters with security key buttons on them, allowing users to easily set unique security keys by plugging each unit in one at a time and pressing the button on the front. To simplify the process of configuring passwords on a HomePlug network, each device has a built-in master password, chosen at random by the manufacturer and hard-wired into the device, which is used only for setting the encryption passwords. A printed label on the device lists its master password.

The data at either end (Ethernet side) of the HomePlug link is not encrypted (unless an encrypted higher-layer protocol such as TLS or IPsec is being used), only the link between HomePlug devices is encrypted. The HomePlug AV standard uses 128-bit AES, while the older versions use the less secure DES.

Advantages & Disadvantages of PLCC

In order to completely analyze the advantages and disadvantages of PLCC technology, we look into its basic application that is access to telecommunication networks. From the economic standpoint, it is very reasonable to use a pre-installed wired network instead of running new wires. It certainly reduces a lot of time & money and so is the biggest advantage of the technology.

In many countries, PLCC is becoming a reliable high speed source to get Internet. And in some places, especially in remote areas, PLCC technology thankfully made it possible to avail internet connections.

Power line communication is quite different in characteristics than the conventional dedicated wirings. Comparatively, it is a harsh medium and data transfer through it can create a lot of problems. Household appliances like halogen tubes, washing machines, televisions, etc. can become prone to an unpredictable noise and interference in the transmission. Continuous plugging and unplugging of electronic devices makes power line characteristics vary constantly.

PLCC Standards

Proper standardization makes a technology comprehensive and deployable. A few standards pertaining to PLCC exist in different parts of the world.

European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC):

Countries from the Western Europe formed a standard known as CENELEC standard to standardize the issues and concerns related to power line communication. This standard defines standards for allowed frequency ranges and output voltages for the communication over power lines. A frequency range of 3 to 148.5 KHz is allowed for the communication and this range is further divided in 5 sub-bands. These are according to the following table: Frequency Range 3KHz 9KHz A-Band B-Band 9KHz-95KHz 95KHz-125KHz

Band

Usage This range is restricted to the Energy Providers. Restricted to the energy providers and their concession holders Restricted to the energy providers customers. There is no access rule defined for this frequency range. Restricted to energy providers customers. Simultaneous operations on multiple systems are possible for this frequency band, A protocol named Carrier Sense Multiple Access Protocol is defined for this using a frequency of 132.5KHz. Restricted to customers. No access protocol is defined for this band.

C-Band

125KHz-140KHz

D-Band

140KHz148.5KHz

Federal Communications Commission (FCC): FCC standardizes the frequency ranges and transmitted power ranges for the power line communications in North America. The allowed base frequencies range from 0 to 530 KHz.

HomePlug Powerline Alliance: HomePlug Powerline Alliance is a group of companies dedicated to improve the technology for the networking and communication over power lines. In June 2001, first specification named HomePlug 1.0 was launched. The standard uses a physical layer protocol (PHY) based on 128 equally divided carrier OFDMs (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) from a frequency range of 0 to 25MHz. It uses concatenated Viterbi and Reed Solomon coding for payload data, Turbo product codes for control data and BPSK, DBPSK, DQPSK or ROBO modulation with a cyclic prefix for modulation of the data.

IEEE 1901: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) stated a standard named IEEE 1901 for high speed power line communications. This group was formed in 2005 and gave its first standard in 2010 which includes two different physical layers, first one based on OFDM modulation and the other one based on wavelet modulation. Network devices that employ only OFDM physical layer will not be interoperable with the device that employ Wavelet physical layer.

IEEE 1901

The IEEE 1901 working group of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers develops standards for high speed power line communications. This technology allows computer networks to send data over electrical power lines (contrasting with approaches such as power over Ethernet which send power over computer network wires). The group formed in 2005, approved its medium access control and physical layer (PHY) draft specifications in 2009, and published its first standard in 2010. The 1901 standards include two different physical layers, one based on orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) modulation and another based on wavelet modulation. Each PHY is optional, and implementers of the specification may, but are not required to include both. Devices that use the OFDM PHY only would not interoperate with devices based on Wavelet PHY. Some members maintain that this lack of interoperability defeats the purpose of having a standard. Others maintain that it is a necessary step to market consolidation. The OFDM PHY is derived from HomePlug AV technology and is deployed in HomePlug-based products. The Wavelet PHY is more narrowly deployed, primarily in Japan. The first option ("FFT PHY") is based on FFT OFDM modulation, with a forward error correction (FEC) scheme based on Convolutional turbo code (CTC). The second option ("Wavelet PHY") is based on Wavelet OFDM modulation, with a mandatory FEC based on concatenated Reed-Solomon (RS) and Convolutional code, and an option to use Low-Density Parity-Check (LDPC) code. On top of these two physical layers, two different MAC layers were defined; one for In-home networking and the other for Access Networking. Two MACs were needed because each application has its unique and different requirements.

References

Following websites were referred for completion of this report. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_line_communication http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEE1901 http://engineersgarage.com/Articles/PLCC http://www.archnetco.com