Scalability evaluation of the data aggregator positioning problem in smart grids

In Smart Grids, each residence contains a smart meter responsible for tracking its user's energy consumption. Such data is periodically sent to one or more data aggregation points (DAPs), usually via wireless communication. DAPs, in turn, retransmit the collected data to their associated service provider. The Smart Grid paradigm requires an efficient method for choosing where to optimally deploy DAPs. One of our previous works has modelled the DAP positioning problem as an NP-Complete problem known as the Set Covering Problem. In this paper, we evaluate the scalability of this model regarding the instances' dimension and the number of smart meters a DAP is able to support. Required execution time, needed memory and solution costs are compared for instances with different characteristics. Results show that the DAP positioning problem can be solved in short time but its memory footprint may compromise the optimal solution's viability.