On energy measurement methods in wireless networks

Measuring the energy consumption of a communication device is necessary in order to develop energy-aware and energy-efficient protocols and applications. There exist various approaches to determine the energy consumption of a device. This paper gives a structured overview on the state of the art of energy measurement and provides a detailed analysis of the advantages and drawbacks of each technique. An improved understanding of how energy measurement can actually be accomplished allows to choose the right measurement technique according to a particular purpose and leverages the development and improvement of energy-aware and energy-efficient protocols and applications.