[Paper Review] Internet of Things-aided Smart Grid: Technologies, Architectures, Applications, Prototypes, and Future Research Directions

Yasir Saleem, Noël Crespi+2 more|arXiv (Cornell University)|Apr 28, 2017

Smart Grid Security and ResilienceEngineering179 references456 citations

TL;DR

This paper provides a comprehensive survey of IoT-enabled smart grids, covering architectures, applications, prototypes, and future research directions.

ABSTRACT

Traditional power grids are being transformed into Smart Grids (SGs) to address the issues in existing power system due to uni-directional information flow, energy wastage, growing energy demand, reliability and security. SGs offer bi-directional energy flow between service providers and consumers, involving power generation, transmission, distribution and utilization systems. SGs employ various devices for the monitoring, analysis and control of the grid, deployed at power plants, distribution centers and in consumers' premises in a very large number. Hence, an SG requires connectivity, automation and the tracking of such devices. This is achieved with the help of Internet of Things (IoT). IoT helps SG systems to support various network functions throughout the generation, transmission, distribution and consumption of energy by incorporating IoT devices (such as sensors, actuators and smart meters), as well as by providing the connectivity, automation and tracking for such devices. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive survey on IoT-aided SG systems, which includes the existing architectures, applications and prototypes of IoT-aided SG systems. This survey also highlights the open issues, challenges and future research directions for IoT-aided SG systems.

Motivation & Objective

• Motivate the transformation of traditional power grids into Smart Grids (SGs) to address inefficiencies and reliability concerns.
• Survey existing IoT-enabled SG architectures, applications, and prototypes.
• Identify open issues, challenges, and future research directions in IoT-aided SG systems.

Proposed method

• Perform a systematic literature survey of IoT-enabled SG research.
• Classify and describe SG architectures, IoT devices (sensors, actuators, smart meters), and connectivity models.
• Review applications and prototypes across generation, transmission, distribution, and consumption.
• Highlight open challenges (security, privacy, interoperability, scalability) and propose future research directions.

Experimental results

Research questions

• RQ1 What IoT architectures support bi-directional energy flow in Smart Grids?
• RQ2 What are the key applications and prototype implementations of IoT in SGs?
• RQ3 What are the main open issues and future directions for IoT-aided Smart Grids?

Key findings

• IoT enables bi-directional energy flow and enhanced monitoring, automation, and control across generation, transmission, distribution, and consumption.
• IoT devices such as sensors, actuators, and smart meters are central to connectivity, automation, and tracking in SGs.
• The survey identifies open issues and challenges including security, privacy, interoperability, scalability, and reliability.
• Proposes directions for future research to advance IoT-aided Smart Grids.