%0 Journal Article
%T Network Architecture, Security Issues, and Hardware Implementation of a Home Area Network for Smart Grid
%A Sergio Saponara
%A Tony Bacchillone
%J Journal of Computer Networks and Communications
%D 2012
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2012/534512
%X This paper discusses aims, architecture, and security issues of Smart Grid, taking care of the lesson learned at University of Pisa in research projects on smart energy and grid. A key element of Smart Grid is the energy home area network (HAN), for which an implementation is proposed, dealing with its security aspects and showing some solutions for realizing a wireless network based on ZigBee. Possible hardware-software architectures and implementations using COTS (Commercial Off The Shelf) components are presented for key building blocks of the energy HAN such as smart power meters and plugs and a home smart information box providing energy management policy and supporting user's energy awareness. 1. Introduction Smart Grid is the evolution of the current power grid, into a new smarter network [1, 2]. It is a modernization, a reengineering of the electricity delivery system, through the exploitation of information and communication technologies (ICT) for power system engineering. The result should be an intelligent network that can monitor, protect, and optimize the operation of all its nodes, from the central and distributed generator layer to the end users [3¨C6]. The primary purpose of this innovation is to increase energy efficiency, reliability, and sustainability to address the growing electricity demand and to mitigate the climate changes reducing gas emissions. Thanks to continuous monitoring of all power grid nodes and the interconnection with classic ICT networks, Smart Grid may be used to increase the energy awareness of the society suggesting and stimulating ¡°green behaviors.¡± This paper discusses aims, network architecture, and security/privacy problems of a Smart Grid in Section 2. Moreover some solutions are proposed in order to define a high-level architecture implementing privacy and security techniques in the grid. From an ICT point of view a Smart Grid is a ¡°network of networks¡± including wide area network (WAN), local area network (LAN), and home area network (HAN), going from the energy generation side to the customer¡¯s premises side. Particularly, a proper design of the HAN must ensure both customers¡¯ privacy and energy efficiency of the system. Sections 3 and 4 focus on a possible realization of an energy HAN, following the recommendations of the SEAS (Supporting Energy Aware Society) proposal by a team of Italian institutions. The aim of SEAS is the development of a high-level architecture to realize a HAN, that allows users to control their energy consumption remotely and to optimize the activities of the appliances within the
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jcnc/2012/534512/