October, 2012Jean Vigneron

General Secretary of G3-PLC Alliance Jean.vigneron@g3-plc.com

Kaveh RazazianSenior Scientist - Maxim Integrated

kaveh.razazian@maximintegrated.com

“ G3-PLC Powerline Communication Standard for Today’s Smart Grid”

Choosing a Technology Platform for the Future

“The biggest challenge facing implementers is how to meet both current and future smart grid requirements, while ensuring interoperability and open-

endedness among grid elements”

When evaluating communications platforms, it is important to look for a solution that:

Provides cost-effective system architecture - Plug-and-Play

Provides real-time communications – Robust, long range, two-way link

Includes security mechanisms - to protect grid assets and theft

Standards based - to ensure interoperability and open-endedness

Scalable and field upgradable

Strong industry support

PLC Evolution

• 1950’s – 10Hz one way communication used managing town lighting

• 1970’s - X10 low speed (20 bits/s), one way communication for simple control of devices and appliances

• 1980s - INSTEON using X10 and RF to address inherent limitations of X10 to penetrate a wider network

• 1990’s - FSK PLC technology became popular providing low data rate (2.4kbps), two way communication for command and control applications

• 2000’s – Broadband above 2MHz, PLC communication (OFDM) for multimedia consumer applications

• 2010’s - G3-PLC low frequency below 500KHz PLC (OFDM) delivering highly reliable, high speed, secure, two way communication designed specifically for the Smart Grid

Maxim Confidential

Severe Channel Condition

In noisy AC line, there is harmonic noise, impulsive noise, and frequency selective attenuation.

Therefore signal amplitude variation is large as shown in Figures 1 & 2

Impulsive NoisePreamble

Figure 1 Figure 2

Noise power distribution between 10kHz to130kHz is 20-30 dB stronger than signals above 200kHz

G3-PLC Defined by Utilities, Developed for Utilities

• In association with: ERDF (Electricité Réseau Distribution France)– 100% subsidiary of EDF (Electricité dé France)– 35M customers – 1,284,000km of electricity power lines– Smart grid deployment plan: 2012

• Technology developer: Maxim Integrated Products, Inc.– Over 25 years in business; 12 years in OFDM PLC

• Main objective: Communication technology offering a balance of robustness, quality of service, high data rate and cost

• Deliverable: A complete OFDM PLC specification, including PHY, MAC, adaptation layer, and meter profile

• PHY/MAC specification completed: 2009

G3-PLC - A Global Solution

MV / MV, MV / LV & LV / LV

High data rate

IPv6 compliant

Secure

Robustness

High density areasSmart Grid

and additional services

Low density areas

Open specification

FCC section 15 defined 10-490kHz frequency band for PLC in North America and Canada

ARIB defined 10-450kHz frequency band for PLC in Asia and Japan

Cenelec EN50065-1 defined a range of low frequency bands for PLC in Europe

• A-band (3-95 kHz), Frequencies in this band shall only be used for applications for monitoring or controlling the low-voltage ,distribution network, including energy usage of connected equipment and premises

• B-band (95-125 kHz), can be used by all applications• C-band(125-140 kHz), for home networking systems• D-band (140-148.5 kHz), specified for alarm-and

security-systems

Government Regulations for PLC

G3-PLC Smart Grid Solution Summary

• Physical Layer– Support of internationally accepted bands from

10kHz - 490kHz (FCC, CENELEC, ARIB)– Multi-layer error encoding/decoding

• Viterbi, Convolution, Reed Solomon and CRC16– 8psk,QPSK, BPSK, Robo, Messaging Mode– Adaptive Tone mapping, notching and modulation

• Application Layer– Compliant ANSI C12.19/C12.22, IEC 62056-61/62

(DLMS/COSEM)or other standards used world wide• Transport and Network Layer

– IPv6 enables potential services: SNMP, TFPT, etc– Adaptation layer 6LowPan associates the MAC Layer

802.15.4 to IPV6:• Compression of IP header, fragmentation, routing,

authentication.• MAC layer

– Plug and play network management to choose “Best Path” (Full Mesh Support)

– Time domain and collision management– MAC Layer IEEE 802.15.4-2006– CSMA/ARQ

FilesCOSEM

Interface model

COSEM AL

Wrapper

TFTP SNMP

Compressed UDP

Compressed IPv6

6LoWPAN Adaptation sublayer

MAC sublayer

PHY layer

InitMngt

CPL media

Physical Layer

MAC Layer

Network Layer

Transport Layer

Application Layer ApplicationLayer

Complete PLC modem for the Smart Grid(from the PHY to the Application layer)

FSK provides only 2Kbps @ 10^-4 BER at 12dB* (From STM Datasheet)

OFDM provides 32Kbps @ 10^-4 BER, and at only 3dB* (G3-Lite - MAX2990 w/DBPSK)

Figure 2Figure 1

Benefits of OFDMHigher Data rates at Lower SNR

10dB performance improvement vs. single-carrier PLC

• Higher reliability• Wider coverage• Longer distances

* 12dB SNR means signal is ~4 times stronger than noise* 3dB SNR means signal is ~1.5 times stronger than noise

G3-PLC Data Rates and BER plots

Frequency Band Typ RoboData Rate (bps)

Typ DBPSKData Rate (bps)

Typ DQPSKData Rate (bps)

Typ D8PSK Data Rate (bps)

Max D8PSKData Rate (bps)

CENELEC A (36kHz to 91kHz) 4,500 14,640 29,285 43,928 46,044FCC (150kHz to 487.5kHz) 21,000 62,287 124,575 186,863 234,321FCC (10kHz to 487.5kHz) 38,000 75,152 150,304 225,457 298,224

Maxim Confidential

0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500-0.4

-0.3

-0.2

-0.1

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4 Received Noise in Good channel RMS= 0.048 V

0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500-0.4

-0.3

-0.2

-0.1

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4 Received Signal + Noise in Good channel RMS= 0.071 V

Attenuation= 20 dB (Signal reduced ~10 Times)SIR = -6 dB (interference stronger 2 times than Signal )

Preamble

Channel Characteristics: Bad Condition

S-FSK vs. OFDM

Application Data Rate

Technology Time (s) to Get a Load Profile Reading of 3300 Bytes*

S-FSK 1200 56

S-FSK 2400 28

OFDM 4

*Notes:– Calculated by DLMS-UA for S-FSK.– Measured in the field for OFDM.

• Grid asset management

• Meter management

• In-home energy display/management

Designed for multiple Smart Grid applications

• Electric vehicle charging

• Lighting automation (Street, Airport, commercial buildings)

• Factory automation/energy monitoring

G3-PLC progress to mass roll-out

2007 2008 2009 2011 20122010

ITU G3-PLC

Standard Pre-

publication

Dec 2011

OFDM DemoEDF/ERDF

Jan 2007

OFDM Field

Trials

Dec 2007

Start Spec

Development

Aug 2008

G3-PLC (DSP)Field Trails

June 2009

Spec

Release

July 2009

Standardization starts(IEEE, ITU, IEC)

Dec 2009

DC/Meter

(Implementation)

June 2010

G3-PLC ChipsetAvailable

Nov 2010

DC/Meter

(Certification)

May 2011

G3-PLC

DC/Meter(Production)

July 2011

DC/Meter

Deployment

Completed

Sep 2011

“G3-PLC - Main Technology Driving Narrow Band (NB) OFDM PLC Standardization”

NB OFDM PLC Standards under development to date:

– ITU G.9955 G3-PLC Annex Pre-publication completed in Dec 2011

– IEEE 1901.2 Cenelec through FCC based on G3-PLC – target ballot Q2CY12

– DLMS /COSEM Upper Layer G3-PLC submitted for inclusion in Blue Book

G3-PLC Standardization

Field tested Worldwide

France – ERDF

Portugal - EDP

USA - WIN Energy and St Louis Coop

Japan – TEPCO and Chugoku

China, State Grid and NARI

Taiwan - III/TaiPower

Mexico – CFE

Germany - Vattenfall

Field test Results - Examples

Typical Electricity Topology

Urban area (~400 meters/transformer)

Residential(200-300 meters/transformer)

Isolated(<9 meters/transformer)

Long-distance MV-to-MV Tests (France)

*G3 tests preformed in CENELEC (32-95kHz ) frequency band without 8PSK limiting data rate.

Test performed by ERDF 6.4KM. No repeaters.

Technology DistanceData Rate

(Kbps)

FER (Frame Error rate)

G3* 6.4Km 6.092 0%

MV-to-LV and LV-to-MV(France)

1,4 km

2 km(M)

(S)

(S)

• Concentrator installed on the MV network, and two slave devices connected to the LV network• MV-to-LV transformer crossing introduced frequency-dependent attenuation of over 40dB

MV-to-LV Test Setup

TechnologyMaster/ Slave configuration

Data Rate (bps) FER (Frame Error Rate)

G3-PLC* 4175 bps 1%

*G3-PLC tests preformed in CENELEC (32-95kHz ) frequency band without 8PSK limiting data rate.

A

B

Test configuration

Pictures from Field Test

Room #2 with all commonly used home appliances where PLC Rx #3 was located.

location where PLC Rx #1 and PLC Rx #2 were located with two Kotasus were on.

Home Appliances Noise

• The following appliances are used as the noise source in the field trial:– IH Heater, TV, triac, 3 Kotasu Heaters, Microwave, Rice Cooker, Water

Pot, Blanket, and carpet vacuum• The noise spectrum of two major noise sources IH Heater an Kotasu are as

shown below:

Maxim Confidential

IH Heater Kotasu Heater

Test Results

• At room 2, we compare the received spectrum with all noise sources off (on the left side), and the received spectrum with all noise sources on (on the right side) as shown as below

• With ATM mode, data rate is about 6-10 kbps

Maxim Confidential

signal level is much higher than noise level

Noise level

signal level is almost the same as noise level

MV-to-LV Tests(USA)

MV

LV

From To DistanceFrequency

BandMode

Data Rate (Kbps)

A B .8KM 300-450kHz BPSK 54A C 1.8KM 300-450kHz BPSK 48

High-speed communications while crossing medium-to-low voltage transformers

18F

3F

1F

2F

Basement

18F

3F

1F

2F

Basement

Building #1 Building #2

T1 (701) T2 (703)

MV (10KV)

LV (380V)

MAX2990Transmitter

MAX2990Receiver

MAX2990Receiver

MAX2990Receiver

MAX2990Receiver

18F

3F

1F

2F

Basement

Building ##18F

3F

1F

2F

Building ##

AirSwitch

AirSwitch

AirSwitch

AirSwitch

AirSwitch

AirSwitch

A

B

C

E

D

• Test were performed in a customer designated site

• Substation located in the basement of a parking structure

• Test site had two MV/LV transformers (T1 and T2).

• MV distribution is underground

DistanceFreq

BandData

Rate

A -> B: 150m ARIB 100Kbps

A -> C: 155m ARIB 100Kbps

A -> D: 220m ARIB 100Kbps

A -> E: 200m ARIB 96Kbps

Test results in Beijing

A

MV LV

18 FloorsB

Thank you for your attention

Visit our websitewww.G3-plc.com

Additional G3-PLC Information

• Idaho National Labs – Charger and EMC testing• http://avt.inl.gov/pdf/phev/VtoVSESmartGridRpt.

pdf• Pacific National Labs – 30 million Message test• http://www1.eere.energy.gov/vehiclesandfuels/p

dfs/merit_review_2011/veh_sys_sim/vss055_gowri_2011_p..pdf

• IEEE G3-PLC Research – G3-PLC on Galvanized SWER

• http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/login.jsp?tp=&arnumber=6102338&url=http%3A%2F%2Fieeexplore.ieee.org%2Fiel5%2F6093618%2F6102296%2F06102338.pdf%3Farnumber%3D6102338