Power Talk: How to Modulate Data over a DC Micro Grid Bus using Power Electronics

We introduce a novel communication strategy for DC Micro Grids (MGs), termed power talk, in which the devices communicate by modulating the power levels in the DC bus. The information is transmitted by varying the parameters that the MG units use to control the level of the common bus voltage, while it is received by processing the bus measurements that units perform. This communication is challenged by the fact that the voltage level is subject to random disturbances, as the state of the MG changes with random load variations. We develop a corresponding communication model and address the random voltage fluctuations by using coding strategies that transform the MG into some well-known communication channels. The performance analysis shows that it is possible to mitigate the random voltage level variations and communicate reliably over the MG bus.