Design and analysis of a micro-solar power for Wireless Sensor Networks

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are fundamentally limited by their energy storage resources and the power they obtain from the environment. The success of wireless sensor networks and their pervasive use is constrained by the energy supply which, generally is provided by batteries, a finite resource. Energy harvesting must hence be taken into account to grant a long time operational life, solar energy being the most interesting one in outdoor deployments due to its relatively high power density. Moreover, WSNs are often designed to be deployed in adverse and non-accessible areas without fixed infrastructure. Therefore, the energy conservation and optimum energy management, as well as suitable energy sources play a crucial role for these networks. Solar-power can provide a much needed energy source for WSN, which are remotely deployed and limited by the short battery lifetime. A challenge in solar-powered WSN is that solar power is an un-predictable and fluctuating phenomenon.