Achieving Energy Efficiency and QoS for Low-Rate Applications with 802.11e

This paper analyses the energy efficiency and QoS performance of 802.11e as a connectivity solution for low-rate applications, such as wireless automation and monitoring. The authors consider non-interference and co-existence scenarios and show through modeling and simulations that the power save operation mode and the EDCA QoS mechanisms in the 802.11e standard can be exploited to achieve the power consumption requirements of low-rate applications. The authors also provide a comparison of the energy efficiency between 802.11e and 802.15.4 under varying interference and traffic conditions. Our results suggest that in some specific scenarios, 802.11e can achieve higher energy efficiency and QoS than 802.15.4.