The Effects of LED Lamps Emissions on PLC: a Preliminary Study in a Realistic Scenario

The measurement of conducted emissions in the 2 kHz to 150 kHz frequency range, also referred to as High Frequency (HF) Emissions (HFEs) or Supraharmonics, is gaining more and more importance. This is due to highly increasing switching frequency of power converters. In low voltage power systems, Light Emitting Diode (LED) lamps are a widespread diffused loads with switching frequency up to some tens of kilohertz. HFEs from LED lamps are in the same frequency range of Power Line Communications (PLCs), widely used for vital grid operations as protection or meter reading. This paper presents the results of a preliminary experimental study focused on the evaluation of the effects of HFEs from LED lamps on the reliability of PLCs.