Connectivity

Communication links bring new value. Renesas’ technological expertise can help reduce development time while enabling highly sophisticated smart meters.

Complex Smart Meter Communication Involving Multiple Standards

The biggest feature of smart meters is their communication functionality. This functionality links the power supplier (the power company) and the consumer (the device in the home), and a variety of communication standards are used in different countries and regions.

In Japan, wireless multi-hop, 1:N wireless, and PLC are being considered for communication between the supplier and smart meter. For communication within the home (or building), Wi-SUN wireless communication, supplemented by power line communication (PLC), are the main methods employed.

In the US and Europe, Wi-SUN and PLC hold the dominant positions, while a variety of other methods such as wireless multi-hop, 2G or 3G mobile communication, and ZigBee® wireless communication are under consideration.

Browse Applications

Browse Renesas block diagrams for connectivity applications to see how our devices could be used in your next project.

PLC (Power Line Communication) Solutions

PLC (Power Line Communication) is a communication method using a power line. By using a power line as a communication network without any additional communication wires, it is possible to build a system at low cost and early stage.

Sub-GHz/Wi-SUN

Sub-gigahertz (sub-GHz) wireless communications technology uses waves around the 920 MHz band. With the proliferation of the Wi-SUN Alliance's international wireless communication standards, sub-GHz wireless communications are being rapidly adopted by the market.

LoRa^® Solutions

LoRa is a Low Power, Wide Area (LPWA) communications technology. It uses the sub-GHz frequency band of frequencies below 1 GHz, and can cover a wide area with low power consumption. LoRa is based on chirp spread spectrum modulation, and realizes a maximum transmission rate of 11 kbps and a maximum transmission distance of around 20 km.

Learn more about LoRa^®-based Network Applications

Are you looking for a complete asset tracking solution from device to cloud?

How to Deploy a LoRa^®-based Network for your IoT Application

Learn how to leverage the advantages of a LoRa^®-based network, the RX family of MCUs, an array of powerful sensors, and the Medium One cloud solution to send data over long distances to be monitored and analyzed in the Cloud in real-time.

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