Optimum transmitted power spectral distribution for broadband power line communication systems considering electromagnetic emissions

The study prior to the installation of a power-line communication (PLC) system requires detailed knowledge of the channel properties, such as transfer function, noise levels, and channel capacity in order to assess the services that can be provided. The channel capacity is greatly affected by the transmitted power over the available frequency range. At the same time, the values of transmitted power determine the electromagnetic field magnitude to the vicinity of the system. The simultaneous operation of different systems which share parts of the same frequency range, in the context of smart grid communications, has to be regulated in order to avoid excessive interference scenarios. Therefore, an algorithm that calculates the optimum power allocation of the transmitted power for PLC systems is proposed. The algorithm takes into account the maximum permitted values of electric field emitted from the PLC system and determines the transmitted power. The proposed algorithm is implemented for several test cases, while the corresponding channel capacities are calculated. It is shown that the proposed scheme better exploits the available frequency range and the transmission margins.