IEC 61850 is the IEC series of standards for communication in power utility automation, most widely used in substations. It defines an object-oriented data model, client/server reporting, GOOSE messaging and sampled values.
IEC 61850
IEC 61850 is a series of standards from the International Electrotechnical Commission for communication in power utility automation, best known in substations. Rather than a single wire format, it defines how equipment describes itself and how it exchanges data.
- A self-describing data model - Logical nodes and data objects give protection and control equipment standard names, so a system can discover what a device offers.
- Reports - Clients receive buffered or unbuffered reports when monitored values change.
- GOOSE - Fast multicast messages carry events, such as trips, between devices on the station network without a central broker.
- Sampled values - Measurements from instrument transformers are streamed on a fixed cycle for protection functions.
- Configuration files - The System Configuration description Language (SCL) describes a substation and its devices in XML.
IEC 61850 is one of the more API-like industrial standards, because its model is typed and self-describing, which makes it a natural source for grid data services.
It is one of fourteen protocols mapped to five communication patterns in OT Fabric’s software architect’s guide to OT.
Industry: Energy
