MIMO systems design for narrowband power line communication in smart distribution grids

In this chapter, data transmission in smart distribution grids (SDGs) is analyzed by means of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) narrowband (NB) power-line communication (PLC) systems, by applying orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) encoding. Regarding NB-PLC physical layer (PHY) modeling, multiconductor transmission line (MTL) theory is used for distribution lines channel characterization, whereas a measurement-based black-box method is adopted to characterize the medium-voltage (MV) to low-voltage (LV) path through the distribution transformers (DTs). OFDM bit-loading and transmit energy optimization processing techniques are applied across the OFDM subchannels of the spatial beams to improve the achievable data rates at the network nodes. Different scenarios are conducted to systematically evaluate the achievable data rates, revealing the possibility for an extensive and reliable application of NB-PLC communications in SDGs.