Neighborhood Area Networks Communication Model for Smart Grid: Design and Performance Evaluation

Neighborhood Area Networks (NAN) and Home Area Networks (HAN) in Smart Grid are facing major set back to connect with control centers because of the high latency in the communication networks. There are multiple network candidates which suffice the requirements of communication applications in Smart Grid. For instance, Zigbee and WiFi are suitable for HAN to meet the requirements of low bandwidth and fewer nodes. On the other hand, NAN consists of thousands of nodes demanding very high bandwidth to cover the area of 25 kilometers, therefore, Mobile Networks (4G/5G) and WiMAX are suitable for NAN requirements. For WAN communication, Fiber outperforms other communication technologies. Current smart grid models fall short to address the demand for low latency high bandwidth infrastructure for NAN communication adjacent to HAN and WAN. Further, how 5G based infrastructure will perform in collaboration with a diverse set of communication technology in HAN and WAN is unexplored. This paper proposes a novel communication design for NAN and HAN using a hybrid communication network for Smart Grid. A communication model is designed as a solution through the collaboration of technologies like 5G, IoT, Gigabit Ethernet - Fiber, and 802.11ac. The simulation results obtained prove the capabilities of the design that fulfills the requirements of NAN and HAN implementation using hybrid communication in suburbs and densely populated areas. The novel design presented in this paper shows its potential with mathematical modelling, feasibility with simulation and improvement in network parameters with result analysis.