Impact of a Speed-Controlled Water Pump on Power Line Communication of Smart Energy Meters

Conducted electromagnetic interference cases are increasing due to the rapid increase of energy efficient electrical equipment in smart grids. For example static energy meter readings are interfered due to non-linear pulsed currents drawn by dimmed lighting technology and a speed-controlled water pump. A communication interface can be added to the static energy meter to form a smart meter, for example using power line communication which works in the CENELEC-A band. This paper shows that the interference from a water pump does not only interfere with the readings of static energy meters but also affects the power line communication of a smart meter. It is shown that the interfered and lost frames during communication are affected by the average impedance of the speed-controlled water pump.