Data Aggregation Point Placement in Energy Harvesting Powered Smart Meter Networks

Abstract

Wireless smart meter network is a crucial component in the smart grid that collects customer information (e.g., gas, oil, and water consumptions) and links the customers to the utility company. The data aggregation point (DAP) acts as a data center that gathers metering information from surrounding smart meters and relays the data to the utility server. The positions of DAPs significantly affect network efficiency, which has been extensively studied in the literature. However, the DAP placement in energy harvesting powered smart meter network is still an open issue. In this paper, we investigate the DAP placement considering that smart meters harvest energy from surrounding DAPs. The position of DAP not only affects the network performance in terms of throughput but also alters the energy harvesting efficiencies. We conduct simulation evaluations and provide in-depth analysis aiming to shed light on the optimal DAP deployment for energy harvesting driven smart meter networks (SMNs).