IoT power calculator helps IoT developers by predicting battery life
Premier Farnell, The Development Distributor, has created an IoT Power Calculator that helps developers of IoT (Internet of Things) projects to understand the expected battery life of their IoT devices, and allows them to experiment with different components and software algorithms to determine their impact on battery life.
Battery power is in increasing demand in IoT applications incorporating sensor systems that collect data and pass the information to the cloud. Unlike many larger connected systems, these relatively small devices often do not have access to mains power. This means that they must have a means of powering themselves, something that is achieved using either batteries or energy harvesting.
Although an increasing number of applications can now be developed at the ultra-low power levels required for energy harvesting, many more are not suitable for this approach, and in such cases batteries are needed to power the system. Unlike products that use energy harvesting, batteries will need changing at some point, and with the cost of replacing batteries often higher than the cost of the IoT device itself, calculating battery lifetime is critical.
The calculator is easy to use and very quick to produce a result. Users enter basic parameters about their hardware – including different types of microcontroller and batteries – and their software (how frequently the software wakes, and how many cycles the data capture/processing and communications operations require) and the calculator uses these inputs to work out the power consumption.
The result is a fast and convenient way to quickly estimate battery life for an IoT application: something that was previously difficult and time consuming, involving either the creation of a spreadsheet or manual calculations of battery life.
Steve Carr, Global Head of Marketing for Premier Farnell said: “We have a strong track record of working with design engineers to help them address the ever-changing design demands being created by an increasingly “connected” world. The Battery Life Calculator has been developed as tool to help address one of the critical challenges that need to be addressed when designing for IoT applications, and is just one of the many resources available in our Internet of Things Hub.
The calculator is available from Premier Farnell’s “Internet of Things Hub”: a one-stop web portal which includes news, views, articles and tools relating to IoT applications, including an article explaining the calculator and factors that impact battery life in IoT applications.
About us
Premier Farnell is a global technology leader with over 80 years in the high service distribution of technology products and solutions for electronic system design, production, maintenance and repair. Premier Farnell uses this experience to support its broad customer base, from hobbyists to engineers, maintenance engineers and buyers as ‘The Development Distributor’, working with leading brands and start-ups to develop new products for market, and supporting the industry as it seeks to develop the current and next generation of engineers.
Premier Farnell focuses its offering around four core customer journeys:
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Education to Maker – Premier Farnell is an official manufacturer of two of the most popular Maker Boards, Raspberry Pi and Beaglebone Black, and exclusive manufacturer of educational programming boards such as the BBC micro:bit and Codebug. Customers are supported through element14.com, the largest online engineering and maker community, also providing support to educators and parents through its new STEM space.
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Research and Design Services - Premier Farnell is the No.1 for Development Kits, having worked with the world’s leading Semiconductor companies to design and manufacture their latest development boards in house. A deep understanding and design knowledge of the latest Semiconductor Devices available also supports Premier Farnell’s broader design assistance offering, providing a similar service to customers of all sizes who are seeking additional engineering support.
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Design through to Production – Premier Farnell provides an entire solution for design to manufacturing customers, with the broadest range of Semiconductor and Passive inventory available, a world class line card, same day despatch, a strong board level Interconnect proposition and growing Electromechanical proposition. In addition, it has the technical support capabilities to meet all customers’ needs, from simple cross-reference to complex design.
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Bench to Board – Premier Farnell offers one of the industry’s broadest ranges of Test & Measurement equipment and a leading line card for all Tool & Production supplies supporting customers from the testing of initial designs to delivering essential maintenance activity to keep their operations running.
Premier Farnell is a business unit of Avnet Electronics Marketing, the components operating group of Avnet, Inc., (NYSE:AVT). Premier Farnell trades as Farnell element14 in Europe, Newark element14 in North America, and element14 throughout Asia Pacific. The Premier Farnell Group is supported by a global supply chain of more than 3,500 suppliers and has an extensive inventory profile developed to anticipate and meet the needs of innovative customers everywhere.
Key facts:
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Operations in 38 countries and 43 local language transactional websites
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More than 3,500 leading suppliers
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For more information, visit the website at http://www.premierfarnell.com
