Modeling of coupling diversity for extra-low-voltage power-line communication networked LED lighting in smart buildings

Networked light-emitting diode (LED) lighting systems form an important part of smart buildings and the Internet of Things. Plug-and-play extra-low-voltage LED lighting systems are attractive because they can be installed and reconfigured or expanded by the end user. Adding network/control/programming abilities to these LED lighting systems increases the appeal to the end user - to be in charge of electricity usage as well as the aesthetics involved. However, these LED lamps as well as billions of other proliferating dc-based electronic appliances all require some form of dc power supply which hampers power-line networking and is a threat to the future success of such systems in smart buildings. A novel power-line interfacing technique, coupling diversity, is tested and modeled to investigate its potential to mitigate this threat which is posed by the worldwide increasing number of dc power supplies. Simulations and live results have yielded gains of up to 2 dB for 12-V LED systems. However, the most important result is a more consistent performance displayed by the novel technique when parameters such as cable topology, cable length, voltage, and impedance levels are varied. © 2013 IEEE.