Couplers
A key and often misunderstood aspect of deploying BPL is coupling.
Couplers are used to inject and extract the BPL signal to and from the power cable. They can be either capacitive or inductive.
Capacitive couplers are generally more efficient, but require a physical connection to be made to the electrical cable. Inductive couplers, by contrast, do not require physical connection, and so are useful for applications such as meter rooms in apartment blocks.
LV couplers are physically quite small and are only designed for use on LV networks (220 or 110 volts depending on country of deployment. MV couplers are much larger, since they must be able to withstand the much greater voltages (up to around 36kV) on the MV network.
Choice of coupler is critical to optimal BPL operations, and requires a careful evaluation of requirements, electrical performance and convenience.
Powerline Technologies can supply a complete range of couplers for both LV and MV applications, on both overhead and underground lines. We can also provide advice and consultancy on all aspects of coupler technology
