Energy demands of 802.15.4/ZigBee communication with IRIS sensor motes

Limited energy sources of nodes in wireless sensor networks require a careful consideration of energy consumption of all processes during the sensors deployment. To analyze energy consumption and to predict a lifetime of a network, a comprehensive energy model based on commercial products is necessary. Therefore, we have focused on the analysis of energy consumption during RF communication with particular 802.15.4 compliant nodes. We have designed experimental testbed and explored the scenario of node association and data transmission. For the measurement we used IRIS sensor nodes with 802.15.4/Zigbee protocol stack and shunt connection. The results show that energy consumption cannot be calculated only from datasheet values of current drain and length of a packet but intervals of listening and waiting between transmissions play important role as well.