Channel evaluation for power line communication in plug - in electric vehicles

In this study, an analysis of the use of the DC grid of electric vehicles as a communication channel for broadband power line communications (PLC) is presented. A measurement campaign of channel frequency responses is reported for different access points inside the vehicle, and also between the vehicle and the external grid during battery charging. The noise produced by the motor drive and the AC/DC converter is measured and characterised in time and frequency domain. A wavelet-based method is used to create a simulation model of the channel frequency responses, which is used together with the measured noise andis used to perform a performance analysis of the channels by calculating the symbol error rate using a multicarrier communication scheme. From the analysis, the authors conclude that a broadband PLC onboard electric vehicle is feasible if advanced PLC schemes are used.