Powerline Communication Seminar Report
Powerline Communication Seminar Report
Communication
1.0.0 Introduction
1.1.0 History
The technology has roots going back to the 1940s.It has been
used by power utilities for simple telemetering and control of electrical
equipment in their networks.
The high pass filter facilitates two way data traffic to and from
the customer premise. Data signals flow through the CDP to the customer’s
service unit via standard coaxial cable.
Digital Powerline
technology was
first tested in a
public setting at
the Seymour Park
Primary School in
Manchester, UK.
Twelve PCs were
connected to a
single Digital Powerline outlet. Dedicated high-speed access to the Internet
turned out to be a great success in the eyes of students and teachers.Nortel’s
Digital Powerline web site quotes Seymour Head teacher, Jenny Dunn;
"The high speed connection really lets us take advantage of the educational
potential of the Internet. With a normal connection the children could lose
interest waiting for pages to download. The new system means information
arrives virtually instantaneously, thereby maximizing teaching time and
keeping children on task. This set is amazingly flexible in educational
terms, and not only gives us the additional medium with which to improve
standards, but prepares us for the National Grid for Learning."
The Nortel web site predicts, "It could also be feasible to have
an Internet address for every plug in the house, through which you could e-
mail, for example: ‘fridge@home’ and study the picture relayed by the
1.7.3 Security
Soon after the first trials of Digital Powerline in the UK, some
unanticipated problems arose. Certain radio frequencies were suddenly
deluged with traffic, making it impossible to transmit on those frequencies.
PLC abroad
Proof that the PLC concept works in practice was furnished by
a series of field trials by Main.net of Israel, Ascom of Switzerland and
some other companies in 16 European countries from Portugal to
Scandinavia, as well as in Hong Kong, Korea, India, Singapore and the
Americas. These trials fulfilled all expectations of reliability, functionality
and the practical applications of Powerline communications. The first
installations are now already up and running or about to go live.
PLC in USA
New York-based Ambient - which will partner with Cisco,
perhaps the technology's largest supporter, and Bechtel on future projects -
is working with the utility Consolidated Edison of New York and Southern
Telecom of Atlanta, a subsidiary of Southern Co., a leading energy
company to expand its testing to several hundred homes. Results indicated
that high frequency data transmissions could be transmitted and received
over distances of more than half a mile, with minimal signal loss. In recent
months, Ambient has achieved throughput speeds in excess of 20 mbps,
and connectivity over distances of 1.5 miles. Up to 200 users can be
supported on a single distribution circuit. Pricing for the systems is not yet
available. Ambient expects to go fully commercial with its systems by first
quarter 2003.
1.10.0 Conclusion
1.11.0 Reference
• http://www.powerlineworld.com/powerlineintro.html
http://www.powerlinecommunications.net/
• www.powerline-plc.com
• www.powerline.com
• O'Neal Jr., J.B. (1986) "The residential power circuit as a
communication medium," IEEE
Trans. on Consumer Electronics, vol.
CE-32, No. 3, pp. 567-577.
• Malek, J.A. & Engstorm, J.R. (1976)
"R.F. impedance of United States
and European power lines," IEEE
Trans. on Elec. Comp., vol. EMC-
18, pp. 36-38.
CONTENTS
1.0.0 Introduction 1
1.1.0 History 2
1.2.0 Overview of Technology 2
1.2.1 The Server 3
1.2.2 The HFCPN Conditioning Unit 4
1.2.3 Service Unit 5
1.3.0 CASE STUDY 6
1.3.1 Powerline Trials: Seymour Park Primary School 6
1.3.2 Powerline Trials: Stanley Road 7
1.4.0 Application areas offered by Powerline communications 8
1.4.1 Powerline telecommunication 8
1.4.2 Home Automation 9
1.4.3 Internet access 9
1.4.4 Power management (Near energy services) 9
1.5.0 Potential Advantages of Digital Powerline Technology 10
1.6.0 Potential Extensions to Digital Powerline Technology 11
1.7.0 Current Limitations of Digital Powerline Technology 12
1.7.1Electro-Magnetic Radiation Issues 12
1.7.2 Addressing issue 13
1.7.3 Security 13
1.7.4 Noise interference 13
1.7.5 Regulatory and standardization issues 14
1.8.0 The Market for Digital Powerline 15
1.8.1 Who is testing or has tested the technology? 17
PLC abroad 17
PLC in USA 18
1.9.0 2003 Update on the Power Industry 19
1.10.0 Conclusion 20
1.11.0 Reference 21
ABSTRACT
The technology has roots going back to the 1940s. It has been
used by power utilities for simple telemetering and control of electrical
equipment in their networks. What is new is the integration of activities
outside the building with those inside the building at a much higher
bandwidth, 2.5 mbps or higher – this means voice and data transmission via
the mains supply voltage network right through to every power socket in
the building, as well as in the reverse direction at high speed.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS