| Summary: | Finding a more efficient use of energy is an important problem that needs attention. Compared with the traditional power grid, a smart grid can monitor users’ electricity situation and electricity consumption instantly. However, it involves many problems of deploying network equipment. Consequently, it is vital to promote smart grids by collecting data from smart meters efficiently and keeping costs low. In this article, we propose a two-stage method of data collection for smart grids. The main contribution of this paper is to lower the number of data aggregation points (DAPs) so that the cost can be reduced. By using the K-means method, an entire smart grid can be divided into many smaller parts. In addition, the needs of transmitting and receiving data in the entire smart grid can be met by installing the least number of DAPs. Finally, the simulations show that the proposed two-stage method of data collection can use fewer DAPs to collect data than other methods which use one-stage methods, so the proposed scheme is more cost-effective.
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