Enhanced Energy Efficiency in Wireless Sensor Networks through Harvesting Technologies

In sensor networks, a wireless sub-system enabling the transfer of digitised data facilitates communication between sensors. Deploying sensor networks involves considering factors such as sensor quantity, topology (fixed or dynamic), data collection needs, and energy supply. Energy poses a significant challenge in wireless nodes, prompting the exploration of suitable power sources for wireless sensor networks (WSNs). While fixed utilities like power lines or manual battery recharging may suffice for a few nodes, deploying hundreds or thousands of nodes in challenging terrain demands alternative solutions. Solar cells and other energy harvesting techniques like wind and RF emerge as ideal options, rendering WSNs self-sustaining. Efficient energy-saving mechanisms are crucial to address energy constraints in small sensors. This review examines leveraging solar cells for energy harvesting, proposing a system incorporating an energy management technique based on node sleep and wake-up strategies. The results reveal a trade-off between dropped communication packets and blocked transmissions during node sleep. The proposed Nash equilibrium resolves this, optimising energy conservation against packet blocking probability in the envisioned scenario.