Increasingly ubiquitous monitoring of electrical components can contribute to improving the quality of electrical services. The aim of this activity is to lay the foundations for the creation of monitoring systems based on IoT technologies of the Low Power WAN type. After an overview of these technological solutions, which are particularly characterized by low energy consumption, the specific use cases related to the monitoring of overhead and underground power lines were analyzed.

Overhead line monitoring has focused in particular on the formation of ice sleeves, as this can cause faults with significant consequences in terms of both cost and inconvenience to users.

Based on the identified functional requirements and the operating conditions of the overhead lines, the specifications of the IoT sensors were defined and the LoRaWAN technology was selected. With a view to the subsequent implementation of the monitoring systems, some components of this architecture were procured and tested both in the laboratory and in the field.

In the case of the monitoring system for the underground MV cables, the technical and functional requirements identified have led to the choice of NB-IoT technology, which, although more consuming, offers better coverage than LoRa technology. The higher energy requirements associated with this solution also led to the consideration of a method of powering the monitoring system based on harvesting the energy dispersed by the monitored cables.

Given that low power WAN technologies are characterized by low power consumption, possible power optimization strategies were also analyzed, taking into account the specific requirements of the two use cases considered.

Based on the results of this specification and experimental activity, two prototypes of overhead and underground line monitoring systems will be implemented in the following research years, combined with an experimental activity aimed at optimizing the energy consumption of the nodes to be installed on overhead lines.