Abstract
M.Ing. (Electrical Engineering Science)
One of the challenges of modern technology is remote control in real-time. Wireless technologies
are used to control solar systems connected or not connected to the grid. Nevertheless wireless
communications present some defects when they are facing basements of buildings and thick
walls. To overcome that weakness, wire technologies seem to be the solution. The use of power
line communications (PLC) technology presents a financial advantage, given the fact that PLC
uses power wire to transmit data. PLC did an interesting leap forward in the last few years, and
this drives researchers to carry out research in that field of Electrical Engineering. The advantages
offered by PLC cannot be over-emphasized, but neither should the inherent problems affecting its
commercial take-off be underestimated. This work creates a background study for experimental
measurement and eventual implementations on PLC. A 2FSK modulation was implemented at
CENELEC B standards, and the carrier signal was sent through a low wattage solar microinverter.
The inverter was built in compliance with the IEEE 1547 standard. Two different
coupling circuits were also built as well as the transceiver. The entire system was fed by a 250 W-
18 V monocrystalline solar panel.
This investigation presents many options to integrate a communication system in a solar system.
The case study has shown that a message sent through an H-bridge inverter is related to many
parameters such as the modulation scheme, the coding techniques, the type of control and the DC
link voltage. The result presents a very weak probability, which implies that the other options
should be investigated.