Although it's possible to design an increasing number of applications with the ultra-low power consumption levels required for energy harvesting, many others are not suitable for this solution, in which case batteries must be used to power the system. Unlike energy harvesting products, batteries need to be charged at some point, and the cost of frequent replacements exceeds that of the IoT device itself, making it crucial to calculate battery lifespan.
The calculator is easy to use and produces results quickly. Users input basic parameters about the hardware (including different types of microcontrollers and batteries) and the software (the frequency at which the software is activated and the number of cycles required for data capture, processing, and communication), and the calculator uses that information to estimate energy consumption.
Steve Carr, Global Head of Marketing at Premier Farnell, said: “We have a long history of working with design engineers to help them address the evolving design demands of an increasingly connected world. The Battery Life Calculator was developed as a tool to help solve one of the crucial design challenges for IoT applications and is just one of the many resources available in our IoT Hub.
The calculator is available on Premier Farnell’s IoT Hub: a web portal that includes news, opinions, articles, and tools related to IoT applications, such as an article explaining how to use the calculator and the factors that affect battery life in IoT applications.”
