Overview

Power Line Communication (PLC) is a rapidly growing market. Utilizing Renesas’ third generation of market-leading powerline communication modem solutions, this winning combination illustrates how PLC can be used in an IoT application. In this design, the RL78/I1C MCU is utilized to measure the voltage/current/phase of the AC power line. That data is then transmitted over PLC via the RL78/G13 to the CPX3 modem SoC and the ISL15110 PLC line driver. These devices are powered by the ISL85415 step-down regulator and a Renesas photocoupler is also utilized to detect zero-crossings and to protect the CPX3 from potential voltage spikes.

  • Can be used for any PLC protocol standard, such as PRIME 1.3.6/1.4 and G3
  • 2-chip solution for PLC (CPX3 PLC modem combined with the ISL15110 line driver)
  • Low power design delivers high efficiency in a small space
  • RL78/I1C is designed specifically for the needs of the smart electricity meter market
  • PS2561F-1 photocoupler provides 5000Vrms isolation voltage and high-speed switching