Power options for wireless sensor networks

Abstract

To combat the security threats of the 21st century it is increasingly necessary to protect ever-remote terrain with wireless sensor surveillance. These systems must be self-sustaining to ensure they are constantly operational. Sandia developed a software simulation tool to validate a variety of renewable energy sources for commercial needs. While this software is heavily used in industry it has yet to be fully applied to wireless sensor networks. Based on simulated solar energy yields two different solar energy systems were designed, built, and deployed to the field. In the time since the solar energy power supplies were deployed, zero hours have been spent on maintenance and it was not necessary to replace a single battery