Power Supply Issues for Wireless Sensor Networks: A Review

Published

March 1, 2014

Author(s)

Wenqi Guo, William M. Healy, Mengchu Zhou

Abstract

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) have enabled numerous embedded wireless applications in different areas such as military/battlefield, environmental monitoring, and intelligent building systems. They consist of a large number of nodes that need to operate normally for months to years to complete designated tasks. Due to the small dimension of a sensor node, the power supply embedded in it has to be very limited. Thus energy conservation becomes a challenging issue in WSNs. In many applications, the power supplies for WSNs fail earlier than the projected lifetime. It is a challenge for researchers and developers to obtain long operating hours without sacrificing the system performance. To better understand the characteristics of WSN power supply, this paper surveys the main factors that can affect battery discharge. Furthermore, it offers readers a glimpse of applying new technology-driven WSNs with energy-harvesting techniques such as photovoltaics or piezoelectric generators.

Citation

IEEE Sensors Journal

Pub Type

Journals

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Keywords

Battery, Wireless Sensor Networks, Renewable energy

Citation

Guo, W. , Healy, W. and Zhou, M. (2014), Power Supply Issues for Wireless Sensor Networks: A Review, IEEE Sensors Journal, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=911922 (Accessed October 17, 2025)