The Internet Power Line Adapter - University of Queensland

Home Automation, Power Lines and the Internet Quenten Alick
Chapter 2
2.1 Technology Review
This chapter will look at existing technology in the areas of power line
communications and home automation. It is intended to give the reader some
background into the field of home automation. The various existing home
automation communications mediums will be discussed. Following on from this,
several of the existing home automation standards will also be discussed.
2.2 Home Automation
To create a home automation system, various devices within the home must be
able to communicate with each other. As such, the method used to communicate
between devices is very important. To date, many communication methods have
been used, including radio signals, infrared communications and cable, coaxial,
twisted pair and power lines. These methods all have their advantages and
disadvantages.
The wireless communication methods have the advantage of being easier to
install since there is no need to install wires. However, they do have drawbacks.
Radio frequencies suffer from interference from other sources, and infrared
systems require near line-of-sight between receivers in order to function
efficiently. On the other hand, cable systems such as coaxial and twisted pair do
not suffer much interference, but do have the disadvantage of installing the
actual cable. Not only is this expensive in an existing home, it limits the
expansion and changing of a home automation system since new cabling will be
required in order to add new components to the system.
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