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Literature review of battery-powered and solar-powered wireless sensor node

Article · January 2015

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 VOL. 10, NO. 2, FEBRUARY 2015 ISSN 1819-6608
ARPN Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences
©2006-2015 Asian Research Publishing Network (ARPN). All rights reserved.

www.arpnjournals.com

LITERATURE REVIEW OF BATTERY-POWERED AND SOLAR-POWERED

WIRELESS SENSOR NODE
A. T. I. Fayeez, V. R. Gannapathy, Ida S. Md Isa, M. K. Nor and N. L. Azyze
Broadband and Network Research Group, Centre for Telecommunication Research and Innovation (CeTRI), Faculty of Electronics and
Computer Engineering, Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM), Durian Tunggal, Melaka, Malaysia
E-Mail: [email protected]

ABSTRACT
Nowadays, sensor node networks are designed and increasingly used in various fields and sectors, such as in
military (examples Battlefield surveillance, nuclear, biological and chemical attack detection and reconnaissance), in health
(examples Tele-monitoring of human physiological data, monitoring patients and doctors inside a hospital), in environment
(examples Forest fire detection, flood detection) and in other various applications. However, the power sources and supply
of the nodes remains as challenge. Therefore, energy conservation plays an important role for this network. Usually the
battery powered is used as power sources for sensor nodes, but energy harvesting offers an alternative, although it not able
to avoid from the problem. In this paper, an analysis is performed to compares the use of batteries powered against solar
cells powered. The basic parameter and characteristic for both of power supplies are studied in terms of capacity or
volume, low self-discharge, shorter recharge time, energy density and power efficiency to generate power for the sensor
nodes, the lower cost and also in terms of characteristics such as size and weight.

Keywords: sensor node, power sources, battery powered, solar cell powered.

INTRODUCTION The sensor node architecture consists of several

Today, the use of sensor node seems to grow main components, such as memory, communication,
without limit. Sensor node is a component of larger controller, sensor and power supply, as shown in Figure-2.
networks of sensors and it is a node in a Wireless Sensor So, the purpose of this project is to examine the sources of
Network (WSN) that able to perform some of processing power supply and potential for sensor node. Other than
in this sensor node is equipped with wireless interfaces, that, power supply can provide as much energy as possible
which they can communicate with another to form a at smallest cost, capacity or volume, weight, recharge
network [1]. Besides that, many autonomous sensor nodes time, longevity, power efficiency, voltage stability and
are able to establish its self-organizing network to form a efficient recharging at low current for sensor node.
Wireless Sensor Network (WSN). The sensor node have
different applications likes habitat monitoring, vehicle
monitoring, structural monitoring and it is usually
intended to monitor, tracking and detect the temperature,
humidity, pressure, wind direction and speed, illumination
intensity, vibration intensity, sound intensity, power-line
voltage, chemical concentrations, pollutant levels and vital
body functions. It commonly used for health, in daily
routine, military, industry, marine, agriculture,
environment and others various applications, as shown in
Figure-1 below.

Figure-2. Sensor node architecture.

BATTERY AND SOLAR POWER

The usage of "battery" to describe a group
electrical devices dates to Benjamin Franklin, who in 1748
described multiple Leyden jars by analogy to a battery of
cannon [3]. Alessandro Volta described the first
electrochemical battery, the voltaic pile in 1800 [4]. So
according to Volta, this was a stack of copper and zinc
plates that was separate by brine soaked paper disks,
which is can produce a steady current for a considerable
length of time. However, Volta did not appreciate that the
Figure-1. Wireless sensor network. voltage was due to chemical reactions and he thought that
his cells were an inexhaustible source of energy, [5] and
that the associated corrosion effects at the electrodes were

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©2006-2015 Asian Research Publishing Network (ARPN). All rights reserved.

www.arpnjournals.com

a mere nuisance, rather than an unavoidable consequence not until 1883 that the first solid state photovoltaic cell
of their operation, as Michael Faraday showed in 1834 [6]. was built, by Charles Fritts, who coated the semiconductor
Although, early batteries were of great value for selenium with an extremely thin layer of gold to form the
experimental purposes, in practice their voltages fluctuated junctions. The device was only around 1% efficient. In
and they could not provide a large current for a sustained 1888 Russian physicist Aleksandr Stoletov built the first
period. The Daniell cell, invented in 1836 by British cell based on the outer photoelectric effect discovered by
chemist John Frederic Daniell, was the first practical Heinrich Hertz earlier in 1887 [11]. Panels in the 1990s
source of electricity, becoming an industry standard and and early 2000s generally used 5 inch (125 mm) wafers,
seeing widespread adoption as a power source for and since 2008 almost all new panels use 6 inch (150 mm)
electrical telegraph network [7]. It consisted of a copper cells. The widespread introduction of flat screen
pot filled with a copper sulphate solution, in which was televisions in the late 1990s and early 2000s led to the
immersed an unglazed earthenware container filled with wide availability of large sheets of high-quality glass, used
sulphuric acid and a zinc electrode [8]. These wet cells on the front of the panels.
used liquid electrolytes, which were prone to leakage and Compared to battery power, solar powered
spillage if not handled correctly. Many used glass jars to operates by converting sunlight into electricity, either
hold their components, which made them fragile. These directly using photovoltaic (PV), or indirectly using
characteristics made wet cells unsuitable for portable concentrated solar power (CSP) [14]. Concentrated solar
appliances. Near the end of the nineteenth century, the powered systems use lenses or mirrors and tracking
invention of dry cell batteries, which replaced the liquid systems to focus a large area of sunlight into a small beam.
electrolyte with a paste, made portable electrical devices Photovoltaic convert light into electric current using the
practical [9]. photoelectric effect [15]. Solar powered can provide
The battery powered is a device that consists of higher power densities. Nevertheless, both these power
one or more electrochemical cells that convert stored sources will operate differently. Besides that, Solar energy
chemical energy into electrical energy [10]. In a battery, can be converted to electricity in other ways, that is trough
the overall chemical reaction is divided by two physically the solar thermal or electric power plants generate
and electrically separated processes, such as one is an electricity by concentrating solar energy to heat a fluid and
oxidation process at the battery negative electrode wherein produce steam that is used to power a generator.
the valence of at least one species becomes more positive,
and the other is a reduction process at the battery positive RELATED WORKS
electrode wherein the valence of at least one species The purpose of this paper is to classify the
becomes more negative. The battery functions by possible methods to provide power to the wireless nodes
providing separate pathways for electrons and ions to into three groups, such as energy stores in the nodes (like a
move between the site of oxidation and the site of battery), distributing power to the node (like wires), and
reduction. The electrons will pass through the external collecting ambient power available at the nodes (such as
circuit, where it can provide useful work, for example solar cells). Figure-3 shows the basic stages of a sensor
power a portable device such as a cellular phone or an node. The sensor node that only can relay or receive data
electric vehicle [10]. While, the ions pass though the can skip functions such as sensing and analogue
ionically conducting and electronically insulating processing.
electrolyte that lies between the two electrodes inside the The sensing block includes one or more sensors.
battery. Therefore, the ionic current is separated from the Analogue processing matches the sensor output to the
electronic current, which can be easily controlled by a digital processor usually used a lower cost microcontroller
switch or a load in the external circuit. and commercial transceivers also are used for wireless
When a battery is discharged, an electrochemical communication. Meanwhile, the power supply has to be
oxidation reaction proceeds at the negative electrode and provided to the different stages.
passes electrons into the external circuit, and a
simultaneous electrochemical reduction reaction proceeds
at the positive electrode and accepts electrons from the
external circuit, thereby completing the electrical circuit
[10]. The change from electronic current to ionic current
occurs at the electrolyte or electrode interface. When one
attempts to recharge a battery by reversing the direction of
electronic current flow, an electrochemical reduction
reaction will proceed at the negative electrode, and an
electrochemical oxidation reaction will proceed at the
positive electrode [10].
The photovoltaic effect was first experimentally Figure-3. The basic stages of a sensor node.
demonstrated by French physicist A. E. Becquerel. In
1839, at age 19, experimenting in his father's laboratory, However, power can also be dominated by the
he built the world's first photovoltaic cell. However, it was sensor stage [16]. So, new low-power sensors and

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ARPN Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences
©2006-2015 Asian Research Publishing Network (ARPN). All rights reserved.

www.arpnjournals.com

electronic interfaces can help in the reduction of the power

consumption of a sensor node. Furthermore, the power
supply stage must be able to provide both the total energy
demanded during the expected lifetime and the instant
power at the activation time [17]. Figure-4 shows a block
diagram of the power supply of a sensor node. The load
accounts for the sensing, processing and communication
stages as shown in Figure-3.
The left three blocks will sense by solar cell
powered from the harvesting energy or either the battery
powered is used likes in dashed blue box. After that, the
ensuing power conditioning stage will provides the
appropriate power supply to the load. In addition, the
batteries with the appropriate amount of energy must be Furthermore, the other storage system that used
used to avoid their replacement [16]. for solar cell powered like ultra-capacitor bank or also
known as supercapacitors storage, as shown in Figure-5.
The supercapacitor has energy density hundreds of times
greater than electrolytic capacitors and the long life, with
little degradation over hundreds of thousands of charge
cycles. It is very higher rate of charge and discharge. The
benefit of Supercapacitor compare to rechargeable
batteries is when power sources full charge, not have any
overcharge danger, not any full detection needed and safe.

Figure-4. Block diagram of the power supply of sensor

node.

Commonly, energy harvesting and the solar cell

power required the storage systems to help and provide
power when the solar power cannot operate. The storage
can provide and also store the power for sensor node. The
Figure-5. Supercapacitor storage system for solar powered
rechargeable batteries are the common choice of energy
sensor node.
storage for sensor node design [16].
The rechargeable battery is a storage cell that can
be charged by reversing the internal chemical reaction. A ANALYSIS
This paper analyzes about the potential power
few popular rechargeable technologies like Sealed Lead
sources for sensor nodes. Analysis between power sources,
Acid (SLA), Nickel Cadmium (NiCd), Nickel Metal
such as batteries power and Solar cell power from energy
Hydride (NiMH) or Lithium Ion (Li-ion). So, regarding to
harvesting for sensor node. In order to provide a general
Table-1, Lithium-ion batteries have highest output voltage,
understanding of the various sources of power, the
energy density, power density and charge-discharge
following metrics will be used for comparison in terms of
efficiency along with low discharge rate. While, the NiMH
energy and power density efficiency to generate power for
and Li-based, emerge as good choices for using by solar
the sensor nodes, the lower cost and also in terms of
powered of sensor nodes.
characteristics such as size and weight. Based on analysis
and researches from other journal, the batteries have been
Table-1. The Comparison of rechargeable batteries of
the dominant form of power storage and delivery for
storage system.
electronic devices over the past 100 years, thus their
consideration for use in sensor node is natural [17]. So, the
batteries are the main solution at present, but unless they
can provide very long lifetime while not dominating the
size or cost of the nodes, the battery will be a significant
deterrent to widespread adoption of these technologies.

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ARPN Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences
©2006-2015 Asian Research Publishing Network (ARPN). All rights reserved.

www.arpnjournals.com

The primary batteries are perhaps the most Table-2. The energy density for primary batteries.
versatile of all small power sources. Table-2 shows the
Primary
energy density for a few common primary battery Zinc-air Lithium Alkaline
battery
chemistries. Meanwhile, in Figure-6 shows the average
power available from these battery chemistries versus Energy
lifetime. So, in many type of primary battery, zinc-air density 3780 2880 1200
3
batteries have the highest energy density from others, (J/cm )
although the battery lifetime is very limit and short.

Figure-6. The average battery powered versus lifetime.

The secondary or rechargeable batteries are commonly consider when using rechargeable batteries is that
used in consumer electronic products such as cell phones, electronics to control the charging profile must often be
PDA’s, and laptop computers. The rechargeable batteries used. These electronics add to the overall power
also used as power sources in sensor node. Sometimes, the dissipation of the device [16]. Nevertheless, like primary
energy harvesting source on the node itself, such as a solar batteries, the voltages are stable and power electronics
cell powered, would be used to storage power and between the battery and the load electronics can often be
recharge the battery. Table-3 gives the energy density a avoided [16].
few common rechargeable batteries powered. One item to

Table-3. The energy density for rechargeable batteries.

NiMHd NiCd
Rechargeable battery Lithium (nickel metal (nickel -
hydride) cadmium)
3
Energy density (J/cm ) 1080 860 650

Meanwhile, we know that Solar cell powered is power and energy. There are two situations that used solar
energy harvesting, which is the process by which energy is powered will be considered, such as use in outdoors (solar
derived from external sources. The energy harvesting energy) and use in indoors (artificial light). Table-4 shows
reference design contains a thin film battery used to the analysis by using solar cell powered in outdoor and
recharge the wireless sensor node through solar cell indoor with the daily energy and average power densities
powered. Power solar cells can provide higher power in December, at the area of Barcelona (Spain) has done.
density and energy through photovoltaic conversion These data have been summarized together with the output
vibration. Sensor node uses on the order of several mW of of a solar cell with 10% efficiency [18].

Table-4. Energy and power densities from a solar cell powered.

Irradiation Hours Daily energy Power
Location
(mW/cm2) (h) (mWh/ cm2) (mW/ cm2)
Outdoors 100 3.4 34 1.42

Table-5, compares the size that required of both μW/cm3 for the batteries and while, the sizes are given in
the batteries powered and solar cells powered in order to square centimetres for solar cells and in cubic centimetres
power sources of the sensor node. Based on research, we for batteries.
found that the lithium primary batteries with an energy
density 3 of 0.8 Wh/cm3. Meanwhile, a lifetime of 5 years
is considered, which results in an average power of 18

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ARPN Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences
©2006-2015 Asian Research Publishing Network (ARPN). All rights reserved.

www.arpnjournals.com

Table-5. Primary batteries versus solar cell. the selected primary battery technology with the
considered solar cells at respectively outdoors and indoors.
Power supply size For continuous operation, both indoor solar cells and
Energy Power
source density Continuous Periodical battery sizes are too large to fit respectively on the top
operation operation (face of 100 cm2) and within the given enclosure [18].
0.018 While, for periodical operation all the solutions fit in the
Battery 5913 cm3 6.1 cm3
mW/cm3 required space. So, other criteria such as cost and circuit
Solar 1.42 complexity also will be included.
76 cm2 0.078 cm2
outdoors mW/cm2 In Figure-7 above, the considered primary battery
Solar 0.017 powered or solar cell powered will be respectively the best
6480 cm2 6.7 cm2 option for lifetimes lower or higher than the intersection
indoors mW/cm2
point between graphs (dashed line). At the other hand,
Moreover, the power densities are similar for primary Batteries have a maximum lifetime (shelf-life)
indoor solar cells and batteries. On the other hand, outdoor due to self-discharge and chemical decomposition [19].
solar cells provide 80 times more power and then provide Lifetime of energy solar cell can also be limited by the
the minimum size solution. storage unit. As can be seen, power density of batteries
decreases linearly with lifetime because of their limited
energy. Energy density mainly depends on battery
technology but also on battery size and manufacturer [18].
On the other hand, solar cell has average and a constant
power density that depends on the specific ambient source.
At a specific time, the alternative with the highest power
density will provide the best option in terms of size and
weight [18].
In general, energy harvesters or solar cells
powered in particular need an energy storage system, as
shown in Figure-3 above. In this research, the researchers
were assume that the storage system has to power the
sensor node for 5 days in darkness. In Table-6 shows the
resulting sizes for lithium and NiMH of rechargeable
batteries and supercapacitors. The energy density of
Figure-7. Power density versus lifetime battery and solar batteries is two orders of magnitude higher than that of
cell powered. supercapacitors. As a result, supercapacitors are not
feasible when the node is operating continuously.
Regarding to Figure-7, the lifetime intersection point is
slightly more than 23 days and 5 years when comparing

Table-6. Energy density and required sizes of storages.

Energy Storage unit size (cm3)b

Storage
density Continuous Periodical
system
(mWh/ cm) operation operation
416
Lithium 31 0.032
(195-532)
260
NiMH 50 0.051
(151-410)
Supercapacitor (3.8-6.4) 2700 2.7

Table-6 (a). Advantages and disadvantages of battery powered.

Disadvantages
Battery Advantages
fixed and limited energy rating
High energy density
Primary (limited lifetime)
Wide availability of
(not rechargeable) High cost of continuous
standard products
battery replacement
Best alternative for low
Dangerous and lead to fire,
cost
explosion, and chemical

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pollution
Cost is paid back quickly Cost of charger - for low cost
for high utilization applications the charger can cost
Rechargeable applications much more than the actual
battery Increased economic and product
environmental benefits Lower energy density
Flat discharge curve overcharging can damaging the
battery

Table-6(b). Advantages and disadvantages of solar cell powered.

Advantages Disadvantages
solar power not only be used for outdoor
applications, but can be used for indoor
applications High Cost Require a battery charge, to
Solar energy does not cause pollution. use solar power at night.
Low electricity bills
Unlimited supply of solar batteries
Can use storage device to storage the energy

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