Power Line Communication for Low-Bandwidth Control and Sensing

While not designed with communication applications in mind, power lines have been attractive targets for providing ancillary services decades. Unfortunately, loads and switchgear can easily interfere reliable both direct subtle ways. Power line (PLC) is therefore often relegated to non-critical control tasks like home lighting or appliance control, where difficulties failure simply result a walk the light switch. For that require low data rates, unexploited opportunities exist increasing reliability of PLC within governing regulatory rules. Reliable, low-bandwidth facilitates new, inexpensive demand-side management building facility. This paper presents approaches tailoring communication, experimental demonstrations 24-floor high-rise challenging channel conditions.