Finding the optimal number of aggregators in machine-to-machine advanced metering infrastructure architecture of smart grid based on cost, delay, and energy consumption

Smart grid uses an advanced metering infrastructure to create a two-way communication network between smart grid components and machine-to-machine communications have a great potential to implement this communication network. In this paper, we propose a one-layer aggregation-based machine-to-machine architecture for advanced metering infrastructure architecture of smart grid and focus on finding the optimum number of aggregators in its neighborhood area network based on three metrics: energy consumption of each aggregator, relay and aggregators cost, and delay. We develop an energy consumption model for each aggregator. We also define delay and a new performance metric, the product of cost and energy (CE), so that by minimizing it, we can obtain the optimum number of aggregators. The simulation results indicate correctness of our theoretical model and show that we can achieve a balance between cost, delay, and energy.