Modeling and performance analysis of automatic meter reading systems using power line communications

This paper presents an analytical model to study the performances of two schemes for automatic meter reading (AMR) systems using power line communications (PLC) access networks. These two schemes, namely clustered simple polling (CSP) and neighbor relay polling (NRP), are shown to be effective and efficient AMR schemes typically in overcoming the ¿silent node¿ problem associated with AMR systems. The analytical model presents a tree-like topological structure of the PLC access network assuming automatic 3-level clustering mechanism. The metering unit with ¿silent node¿ problem is represented by a two-state transition Markov model. The data collection time and success rate of the two schemes are studied. Through the comparison of the analytical results with the simulation results, it is verified that the analytical model to study the performances of the AMR schemes is accurately developed.