Edge Computing for IoT-Enabled Smart Grid

Smart grid is a new vision of the conventional power grid to integrate green and renewable technologies
increased by smart embedded devices that have intelligent decision-making ability
sensors and data sources will collect data of high resolution
the vital challenges for IoT is to manage a large amount of data produced by sensors
issue is addressed by edge computing (EC).

IoT-based smart grids need six fundamental technologies

Software-defined objects
Model protocols
Edge computing-based analysis
Intelligent sensing
Low cost
Network information security
IoT is the result of current progress in embedded processing, wireless, and sensing technologies. IoT offers improved and structured control and monitoring services.
Applications like smart home, health care, smart building, smart grid, smart industry, smart city, smart agriculture are covered by IoT.

EC is classified into different groups based on architecture
three models of EC technologies including fog computing, cloudlets, and MEC
potential of EC can be achieved by serving the SDN as an enabler to lessen the complexity barriers
The number of smart devices connected to the Internet is increasing day by day, which has resulted in the unavailability of bandwidth, poor privacy, poor security, and low response in conventional cloud computing paradigms
To solve these issues, a new computing paradigm named "edge" has been introduced
EC can fulfil the crucial requirements of the industry related to IT in optimization of data, sharp linking, application surveillance, real-time business, privacy, and security
In the edge paradigm, networking, storage, and computation are performed near to the end user and also in the central data centre
Cloud computing consists of two-layer architecture (end device and data centre of cloud) while edge computing may have three-four-, or five-layer architectures

A smart grid consists of four major subsystems: power generation, transmission, distribution, and power utilization.
IoT can be applied to control and monitor the energy consumption, equipment, units, pollutants' discharge, gas emissions, power connection, and energy storage.

Home Area Networks (HANs): control the on-demand energy requirements of the consumers and comprise home appliances (air conditioners, televisions, washing machines, ovens, and refrigerators), smart devices, electrical vehicles, and renewable energy resources.
Neighbor Area Networks: deploys smart meters that belong to numerous HANs and is used to deliver information for the aim of energy management
Wide Area Network: provides the connection between the major core network and widely expanded smaller networks (NAN, IAN, and BAN). It provides unification between power transmission systems, renewable energy sources, bulk generation systems, and control systems

Three-layer architecture: consists of three layers, perception layer, network layer, application layer
The network layer consists of various kinds of wired and wireless communication networks
Application layer processes the information obtained from the network laye
monitors the IoT devices in real-time.

Traditional cloud computing cannot fulfill the needs of IoT data processing because cloud servers are located geographically in distant areas that need multihop communication
IoT devices transmit raw data to clouds that impose a massive load on the communication network
EC reduces the network load and latency for real-time applications

The device layer is the first layer that functions as a communication bridge between SG devices
IoT objects like actuators, controllers, and sensors that monitor equipment, smart meters, smart appliances, services, or activities in SG operation
Edge is the central layer in the framework
It is situated at the edge of the network and comprises a large number of edge nodes
Various edge nodes at different locations in the SG system send real-time data to the edge server where necessary computation is performed and the results are sent to the central data centre in the cloud
Cloud computing is the third layer of the framework and is a combined storage and computing platform

Compatibility: The ability of various systems to understand and make use of each other functions
Sustainability: Utilization of renewable energy resources and energy-efficient designs to minimize the universal carbon footprint
Reliability and Scalability: To establish a scalable EC infrastructure, we have to contemplate reliable performance for the increasing number of smart devices, diverse networks, and end users
Resource Management: For efficient management of computation, storage, and communication resources among various players in SG for the optimization of overall system performance
Flexibility: To adequately predict user demand using edge service providers before assigning computational resources, like storage, bandwidth, and processing power
Security and Privacy: Cybersecurity is related to the protection of data, network, and computing infrastructure from attacks
At the centre of EC paradigms, there are various technology enablers, e.g., wireless networks, virtualization, and distributed systems

Security mechanisms in EC may be centralized or decentralized
Centralized security needs uninterrupted accessibility of centralized infrastructure
It has the edge of easier management, but it is at risk of failure if the centralized server is exposed to any attack
Decentralized security has the benefits of less vulnerability to attacks and reduction in delay
EC-IoT-based SG systems use a combination of different communication networks at various stages in the same operation
The communication path proceeds through several terminals, devices, local network, gateways, edge servers, and finally to the cloud, utilizing different protocols every time

EC is envisioned as a provisioning solution to enable the cost-effective, efficient, and reliable two-way energy and information flow in SG because it provides computation and storage resources at the edge of the network