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Wired vs Wireless meters

Wireless open standards 

Protocol Frequency Range Data Rate Topology Power Usage
Zigbee 2.4 GHz, 915/868 MHz Short Up to 250 kbps Mesh, Star Very Low
LoRaWAN 868/915 MHz Long 0.3–50 kbps Star Extremely Low
Wi-SUN 868/915 MHz Medium to Long 50–300 kbps Mesh Low to Medium
Bluetooth LE 2.4 GHz Short 125 kbps–2 Mbps Star, Mesh Very Low
IEEE 802.11ah Sub-GHz (~900 MHz) Medium Up to Mbps Star, Tree Low
IEEE 802.15.4 Various Short–Medium 20–250 kbps Mesh, Star Very Low
Thread 2.4 GHz Short 250 kbps Mesh Very Low

  • LoRaWAN: If covering a large geographical area (kilometers), due to its excellent range, penetration, and low power use.

  • Wi-SUN: For robust, medium-to-large-scale smart metering networks, especially if a mesh topology is desirable.

  • Zigbee/Thread: Ideal for dense residential areas where devices (meters) are closer together, benefiting from low power and reliable mesh networking.

Wired Open standards 

Protocol Standard OSI Layers Medium Topology Range Data Rate Typical Application Areas Remarks
G3-PLC ITU-T G.9903 Layers 1-2 Power Lines Mesh, Star Up to several km 2.4–35 kbps Smart grids, AMI, smart meters Robust, designed for noisy environments; supports IPv6, strong security
PRIME ITU-T G.9904 Layers 1-2 Power Lines Mesh, Star Up to several km 21–128 kbps Smart metering, distribution automation Optimized for higher-speed PLC, widely used in European smart meter rollouts
IEEE 1901.2 PLC IEEE 1901.2 Layers 1-2 Power Lines Mesh, Star Up to several km 2.4–500 kbps Smart grids, smart cities High interoperability, IPv6 support; ideal for utility and smart city deployments
M-Bus (Meter-Bus) EN 13757 Layers 1-2 Twisted pair cable Bus Up to ~1 km 0.3–38.4 kbps Meter reading (water, heat, gas) Widely used in Europe; reliable, low-cost wired solution
KNX ISO/IEC 14543-3 Layers 1-2 Twisted pair cable Bus, Star, Tree Up to ~1 km 9.6 kbps Building automation, home control Open standard for building automation, popular in Europe
BACnet MS/TP ASHRAE 135 Layers 1-2 RS-485 twisted pair Bus Up to ~1.2 km 9.6–115.2 kbps Building automation, HVAC controls Common in building and industrial automation; robust, scalable
Ethernet IEEE 802.3 Layers 1-2 CAT5/CAT6 cable Star, Tree Up to ~100 m 10 Mbps–100 Gbps Networking backbone, smart buildings High-speed, standard networking; widely supported across industries
RS-485 (EIA-485) EIA-485 Layers 1-2 Twisted pair cable Bus Up to ~1.2 km Up to 10 Mbps Metering, industrial control systems Simple, robust, widely used for serial data transmission
CAN Bus ISO 11898 Layers 1-2 Twisted pair cable Bus Up to ~1 km Up to 1 Mbps Automotive, industrial automation High reliability, robust error detection, common in harsh environments

  • PLC-based (e.g., G3-PLC or IEEE 1901.2):

    • Ideal due to existing infrastructure (power lines).

    • Good for scalable, reliable deployments.

  • RS-485:

    • Robust, simple wiring suitable for smaller clusters.

    • Common for direct-wired connections (local clusters).

  • M-Bus:

    • Suitable if integrating gas, water, or heat metering alongside electricity

Comparison between wired and wireless 

Aspect Wireless Option (Wi-SUN/LoRaWAN) Wired Option (G3-PLC, RS-485) Recommendation
Installation Cost 🟢 Lower 🔴 Higher (cabling, labor) Wireless ✅
Maintenance Cost 🟡 Moderate (battery replacements) 🟢 Low (no batteries required) Wired ✅
Reliability 🟡 Medium (environment dependent) 🟢 High (consistent, stable) Wired ✅
Scalability 🟢 High (easy additions) 🔴 Moderate to low (harder additions) Wireless ✅
Range/ Coverage 🟢 Good (with repeaters) 🟢 Excellent (using PLC) Wired (PLC) ✅
Security 🟡 Good (depends on setup) 🟢 Very Good Wired ✅
Installation Time 🟢 Short 🔴 Longer Wireless ✅
Physical disruption 🟢 Minimal 🔴 High (trenching, wiring) Wireless ✅

 

📌 Primary Recommendation: G3-PLC (Wired)

Given your scenario (dense apartment blocks with existing electrical infrastructure and meters located closely on the ground floor), G3-PLC offers significant advantages:

  • Low Ongoing Maintenance: No batteries to manage.

  • High Reliability: Stable signal leveraging existing wiring.

  • Cost-effective (long-term): Minimal ongoing costs after initial installation.

  • Robust & secure: Highly suited for apartment complexes.

📌 Alternate Recommendation: Hybrid (PLC Backbone + Wireless Endpoints)

If flexibility or future expansions matter, consider a hybrid setup:

  • Use G3-PLC within each block to connect meters reliably to a local gateway.

  • Connect block gateways to a central system via wireless (Wi-SUN or LoRaWAN). This reduces physical disruption between buildings while maintaining the reliability within each block.

This hybrid method provides the best of both worlds—flexibility and low maintenance.

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