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Opportunities and Challenges of Wireless Sensor Networks in Smart Grid | IEEE Journals & Magazine | IEEE Xplore

Opportunities and Challenges of Wireless Sensor Networks in Smart Grid


Abstract:

The collaborative and low-cost nature of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) brings significant advantages over traditional communication technologies used in today's electri...Show More

Abstract:

The collaborative and low-cost nature of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) brings significant advantages over traditional communication technologies used in today's electric power systems. Recently, WSNs have been widely recognized as a promising technology that can enhance various aspects of today's electric power systems, including generation, delivery, and utilization, making them a vital component of the next-generation electric power system, the smart grid. However, harsh and complex electric-power-system environments pose great challenges in the reliability of WSN communications in smart-grid applications. This paper starts with an overview of the application of WSNs for electric power systems along with their opportunities and challenges and opens up future work in many unexploited research areas in diverse smart-grid applications. Then, it presents a comprehensive experimental study on the statistical characterization of the wireless channel in different electric-power-system environments, including a 500-kV substation, an industrial power control room, and an underground network transformer vault. Field tests have been performed on IEEE 802.15.4-compliant wireless sensor nodes in real-world power delivery and distribution systems to measure background noise, channel characteristics, and attenuation in the 2.4-GHz frequency band. Overall, the empirical measurements and experimental results provide valuable insights about IEEE 802.15.4-compliant sensor network platforms and guide design decisions and tradeoffs for WSN-based smart-grid applications.
Published in: IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics ( Volume: 57, Issue: 10, October 2010)
Page(s): 3557 - 3564
Date of Publication: 05 February 2010

ISSN Information:


I. Introduction

The global climate change and rapidly growing populations over the past decades have generated increasing demands for abundant, sustainable, and clean electric energy on a global basis. However, in most countries today, the increasing energy demand means an even heavier burden on the already overstressed, overaged, and fragile electricity infrastructure. In the U.S., for example, the average age of power-grid transmission lines is beyond 50–60 years [29]. Over the last 20 years, the electricity demand and consumption have increased continuously by 2.5% annually according to a U.S. Department of Energy report [8]. The increasing electricity demand, together with the complex and nonlinear nature of the electric power distribution network, have caused serious network congestion issues. The network congestion and safety-related factors have become the main causes of several major blackouts that happened in recent years. In addition to the overstressed situation, the existing power grid also suffers from the lack of pervasive and effective communications, monitoring, fault diagnostics, and automation, which further increase the possibility of region-wide system breakdown due to the cascading effect initiated by a single fault. Furthermore, the global increasing adaptation of renewable and alternative energy sources in the 21st century also introduced new issues, such as power-grid integration, system stability, and energy storage, which also need to be addressed as additional challenges.

References

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