Home area network security in smart grid: A hybrid model of wireless and power line communications

Abstract

Traditionally, jamming to the wireless in-home system is a fatal threat for Smart Grid communications, which impedes the two-way data transmission between electric devices and the smart meter, and thus deteriorates the reliability of the in-home communication of Smart Grid. To enhance Home Area Network (HAN) security for Smart Grid application, in this paper, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM)-based power line (PL) system is incorporated into HAN, and a hybrid model of PL and wireless communications are proposed with transmit diversity. For the combinational model with transmit diversity, Alamouti code is employed at the transmitter part. Simulation results validate the feasibility of the presented combinational solution, and furthermore show that the hybrid model could tolerate jamming to the wireless system effectively.