Determining electric grid topology via a zero crossing technique

A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing program instructions that, when executed by a processing unit, cause the processing unit to determine a network topology associated with a power distribution network, by performing the steps of:

• obtaining first data indicating that a first node within a mesh network identified a first event at a first time;
• obtaining second data indicating that a second node within the mesh network identified a second event at a second time;
• determining a time difference between the first time and the second time;
• and
• generating a network topology for controlling the power distribution network that indicates that:
• a first power line is associated with the first node and the second node and transports power having a first phase of power when the time difference is zero;
• or
• the first node and the second node are associated with different power lines having different phases of power when the time difference is non-zero.

A system for determining a network topology associated with a power distribution network, comprising:

• a mesh network;
• and
• a server machine coupled to the mesh network, wherein the server machine configures the mesh network to:
• obtain first data indicating that a first node within the mesh network identified a first event at a first time,
• obtain second data indicating that a second node within the mesh network identified a second event at a second time,
• determine a time difference between the first time and the second time;
• determine that the first node is coupled to a first element in the power distribution network that consumes power having a first phase of power, and
• determine a phase of power associated with a second element in the power distribution network to which the second node is coupled based on the first phase of power and the time difference,
• wherein the server machine is configured to generate a network topology for controlling the power distribution network that indicates that a power line is coupled to the second element and transports power having the phase of power associated with the second element.