A power optimised narrowband power-line communication system

Abstract

Narrowband Power-line Communication (NPLC) technology uses a narrow bandwidth to transmit information. Its major applications include control, smart home systems and security. This paper proposes a power optimised NPLC system to minimise its systemic power consumption without compromising its communication ability. By using the proposed Smart Energy Conservation Layer which reads the signal strength from the PLC channel, a power optimised system is achieved to provide the essential transmitting power to secure the communications. Compared to commercial systems, the potential power saving could be up to 99% in a household environment, as demonstrated by the experimental results.