Solar Powered Wireless

Sensors & Instrumentation:

Energy Harvesting Technology Reduces
Operating Cost at Remote Sites

Standards
Certification
Michael Macchiarelli
Education & Training
Publishing
Conferences & Exhibits
Presenter

• Michael A. Macchiarelli, President

Imagine Instruments LLC
Stratford, Connecticut

• Electronic Engineering, Community College of USAF

• 23 Years Experience Designing Sensors, Process Controls and Instrumentation

• - 5 awarded and 6 pending U.S. and International Patents

• Recent Project
- Line of Solar Power Systems for Sensors and Instrumentation operated in remote locations
• Employment History
- Imagine Instruments LLC (6 Months)
- Omega Engineering Inc. (23 Years, Product Development Manager, Electronic Design Engineer)
- Norden Systems, United Technologies (2 Years, Engineering Assistant) Military Electronics
- USAF (6 Years, Aircraft Electrician, Avionic Sensors Systems Technician)

2
Presentation Outline

• Wireless Sensor System Overview

• Energy Harvesting & Storage
• Solar Power System Components
• Example Application
• Benefits & Cost Savings
• Conclusion
• Questions & Discussion

3
Wireless Sensor System

• A wireless sensor system uses sensors to monitor

physical or environmental conditions

• A typical system consist of one or more transmitter

nodes sending measurement date to a receiver or base
connected to a host PC that monitors or records the data.

• The predominant wireless sensor standards being

deployed in the field currently are ISA100.11a,
WirelessHart and Zigbee

4
Wireless Sensor System

Typical Star Network

In a star network one or more
transmitter nodes are connected to a
centralized receiver

Transmitter nodes cannot

communicate directly with each other
and only communicate with the
receiver

5
Wireless Sensor System

Typical Mesh Network

Mesh network transmitter nodes are all
able to communicate with each other.

Transmitter nodes can move data

between themselves until the data
reaches the intended location

Mesh networks are self healing.

Best choice when setting up a short to

moderate distance, non line-of-sight
application

6
Wireless Sensor System

Transmitter (Node) Operation

Typically measures temperature, humidity, voltage or current

Radio transmit power, transmit cycle time and ambient conditions effect the
power consumption.

Short range radio consumes most power

Radio wakes periodically from sleep mode and transmit measurement data to
the receiving base.

During each transmit ion of data the current drain placed on the battery usually
spikes to levels in the hundreds of milliamps.

7
Wireless Sensor System

Powering the Transmitter (Node)

Most wireless transmitters are currently powered by

limited-life (non-rechargeable) Lithium or Alkaline batteries.

The Lithium Thionyl Chloride battery technology provides the highest

energy density, three times higher than Alkaline (Zinc Manganese
Dioxide) batteries. A standard 3.6V C size cell on average has a
capacity of 8500 mAh

Generally have the widest operating temperature range of -76F to +

185 F, ideal for industrial and field applications

Alkaline batteries are sometimes used in wireless transmitter design

but they lack the same length of performance and reliability.

8
Wireless Sensor System

Powering the Receiver (Base Unit)

Usually the receiver, or base unit is not
powered by limited-life batteries.

Most often the receiver is connected to a

permanent, continuous source of power.

Examples would be…

 Through the USB connection to a host computer

 Standard AC/DC power supply
 Large capacity solar power system

9
Wireless Sensor System

Selecting Wireless System Components For Your Application

Radio Strength Over Distance
The higher the frequency of the radio (i.e. 2.4GHz is > 900MHz) the quicker the wave loses
its strength.

A 900MHz signal will transmit almost 2.5 times further than a 2.4GHz signal.

Obstructions to the RF Signal

2.4GHz radios tend to propagate poorly through walls, trees and other obstructions.

A 900Mhz (and 868MHz) frequency has a 12 inch radio wave (from peak to valley) and can
penetrate obstacles more efficiently.

Radio Frequency
An advantage of the 900MHz frequency is that it is not nearly as crowded as higher
frequency bands.

Blue Tooth devices, standard WiFi networks (802.11.x), Zigbee and other 802.15.4 devices
all share the 2.4GHz frequency band.

10
Energy Harvesting & Storage

What is Energy Harvesting?

Energy Harvesting, or energy scavenging, is the process by which energy is derived from
ambient external sources that would otherwise be lost as heat, light, sound, vibration or
movement. This free energy is captured, and stored.

The process, also known as energy scavenging, captures residual energy as a byproduct
of a natural environmental phenomenon or industrial process and is therefore considered
"free energy." More often than not, this residual energy is released into the environment
as waste.

11
Energy Harvesting & Storage

Examples of Ambient Energy Sources

light
 Captured from sunlight or ambient room light
 photovoltaic cells are used to capture light energy

Thermal
 Waste energy from friction and sources of heat
 Furnaces and engines can be used to capture thermal energy

Mechanical
 Resulting from mechanical stress, strain and vibration
 Wind and water flow can be used to capture mechanical energy

12
Energy Harvesting & Storage

Types of Storage Devices Used In Solar Power Systems

Ultracapacitor Bank (Supercapacitors)
 Energy density hundreds of times greater than electrolytic capacitors
 Long life, with little degradation over hundreds of thousands of
charge cycles
 Very high rate of charge and discharge
 No full charge detection needed, no overcharge danger

Lead Acid, Deep-cycle Batteries

 Can be consistently deeply discharged using most of its capacity
 Life depends on number of charge cycles and depth of discharge
 Rated capacity decreases in cold ambient temperatures

13
Solar Power System

Remote Location, “Off-grid” System for

Wireless Sensors and Instrumentation
An off-grid solar power system is where there is no connection to
the utility company’s power grid.

System requires the following components…

 Solar panel
 Charge Controller
 Deep-cycle Battery
 Low Voltage Disconnect
 Ether a Step-up, Step-down Power Conditioner or Inverter
 Equipment Enclosure & Mounting Accessories

Additional monitoring equipment can be added

14
Solar Power System

Solar Panel
 Solar panels use light energy to generate electricity

 Most are wafer-based crystalline silicon cells or thin-film

cells made from cadmium telluride or silicon.

 A single cell can generate around 0.5 Volts

 Multiple cells are typically connected in series together to

provide higher voltages and increased capacity.

 Solar panels are rated in watts per hour

 Most panels under 135 watts are designed for 12 Volt systems

 Generally panels over 135 watts provide 21 to 40 Volts

15
Solar Power System

Solar Charge Controller

 Solar charge controller s are connected between the solar panel and the battery

 Regulate the charge from a solar panel to a single battery or battery bank.

 Charge controllers are rated based on the amount of amperage they can process

 Protect the battery from over charging

 Usually handles up to 30 amps of array current and up to 450 watts of solar power

 Connecting a solar panel to a battery without a regulator can damage the battery.

16
Solar Power System

Low Voltage Disconnect (LVD)

 Prevents damage to the battery due to excessive deep discharge.

 Is installed between the battery and load.

 Disconnect usually occurs between 10.5 to 12 Volts.

 You should use a model with a very low “on” resistance.

17
Solar Power System

Lead Acid Deep-cycle Battery

 Designed to absorb and give up electricity by using a reversible chemical reaction.

 A cycle on a battery occurs when you discharge your battery and then charge it

 Deep-cycle batteries are designed to discharge between 50% and 80%.

 Best lifespan vs cost method is to keep the average cycle at about 50% or less.

 Can be consistently deeply discharged using most of its capacity

 Life depends on number of charge cycles and depth of discharge

 Rated capacity decreases in cold ambient temperatures

18
Solar Power System

Power Conditioner / Inverter

 For powering wireless sensors, transmitters and Instrumentation

 Regulates the battery voltage to a lower or higher voltage.

 A dc-dc switching supply is recommended over a linear regulator.

 A switching regulator offers higher efficiency and less heat in the design.

 A “step-down” power conditioning module typically provides between 3 to 5 Vdc

 A “step-up” power conditioning module typically provides up to 24 Volts

 Additionally, a DC to AC inverter can be added should you need 120VAC 50/60 Hz

19
Solar Power System

Typical Installation Setup

20
Solar Power System

Typical Wiring Block Diagram

Note: Unless the solar panel or charge controller

Incorporates a blocking diode you would need to install one.
When there is no voltage being produced by the panels (at night), the voltage of the battery
would cause a current to flow in the opposite direction through the panels, causing a
discharging the battery

21
Example Application

Water Tank Monitoring & Pump Control

Monitoring both water level and temperature

Sends data 2 miles to control station

22
Benefits & Cost Savings

Sample Application Running on Limited-life Batteries

Level and Temperature
Transmitter nodes sending
data ever 30 seconds
(explain cycle-time)

Battery in the Level

transmitter will last an
average of 255 days or less

Battery in the Temperature

transmitter will last an
average of 365 days or less

23
 Benefits & Cost Savings

Sample Application Running on Solar Power

5W 18V Solar Panel

12V, 7Amp Charge

Controller

12V 4.5 AH Deep-

cycle Battery

Low Voltage
Disconnect at 11.5V

Step-down Dc-Dc
power conditioner with
3.6V @ 1amp output

NEMA rated enclosure

24
Benefits & Cost Savings

Cost Comparison & Savings Breakdown Over 6 Years

Both Transmitter Nodes Powered By Limited-life Batteries
Level Transmitter Maintenance - battery ($25) + 1 hr labor ($50) = $75
Requires battery replacement 10 times over 6 years - $750

Temperature Transmitter Maintenance - battery ($25) + 1 hr labor ($40) = $65

Requires battery replacement 6 times over 6 years - $390
Total 6 year cost = $1,140
Powered By Solar Power System (Do it yourself)
10W, 18V Solar Panel $29 3.6V Power Conditioner $35
12V, 7A Charge Controller $35 12V, 7 ah Battery $26
Low Voltage Disconnect $40 NEMA Enclosure $30
Mounting Accessories $35 Installation Labor $100

Total 6 year cost - $330

25
Conclusion

Wireless Sensor System Overview

 Uses sensors to monitor physical or environmental conditions
 Radio transmit cycle time, RF power can greatly effect power requirements

Energy Harvesting & Storage

 Energy can be collected and stored from light, heat and vibration
 Energy can be stored in rechargeable batteries or supercapacitors

Solar Power System

 Requires a solar panel, charge controller, battery, LVD and power conditioner
 Should be designed to place no more than a 50% depth of drain on the battery

Benefits & Cost Savings

 Use of limited-life batteries can result in13 or more replacement batteries over 8 years
 Can reduce overall maintenance cost to “zero” dollars over a 8 year period

26
Questions / Discussion

Questions?
Thank You!

27