Power Line Communication Systems for Smart Grids

Power Line Communication (PLC) is a well-established technology that allows the transmission of data through electrical wires. A key advantage of PLC is its low cost of deployment when the electrical wiring infrastructure already exists, enabling it to compete or work in conjunction with wireless technologies. PLC has recently received growing attention and significant investments within the development of the Smart Grid (SG), that in turn requires sophisticated data exchange and communication.

This book presents a comprehensive introduction to the principals involved in the use of narrowband and broadband PLC technologies in the SG, and to using these technologies particularly when intermittent renewable energies sources are employed. Chapters cover fundamental concepts of modern digital communications, the main coding techniques, specific characteristics of the PLC channels, the fundamentals of the SG, and the differences between the narrowband and broadband technologies for SG applications. The work covers the main standards and several related state-of-the-art works, as well as some key aspects of the use of renewable energy sources.

Power Line Communication Systems for Smart Grids is essential reading for researchers, professionals and graduate students involved with the study and development of PLC systems, SG and related subjects.

Ivan Casella is a Professor at the Engineering, Modeling and Applied Social Sciences Center of the Federal University of ABC, Brazil and the chair of the Communication and Information Laboratory. Dr. Casella's industrial experience includes working at Philips Consumer Electronics Development Laboratories and NEC Research Center (CPDIA). His main areas of research focus on wireless and powerline communication technologies, evolutionary techniques, internet of things and smart grids, where he has acted in different research projects and published several articles and book chapters. In addition, he has served as associate editor and referee for some prestigious scientific journals and congress.

Alagan Anpalagan is a Professor at the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering at Ryerson University, Canada. Dr. Anpalagan's industrial experience includes working at Bell Mobility, Nortel Networks and IBM Canada. His research interests include green communication, energy harvesting technologies, power line communications, machine-to-machine communication, smart grid and smart homes, cross-layer design, performance modeling, analysis and optimization. He has received several awards for his works, including IEEE Canada J.J. Ham Outstanding Engineering Educator Award.