Analytical energy consumption model for MAC protocols in wireless sensor networks

Since sensor nodes are powered by battery and in most situations, they are deployed in a hostile environment, where it is very difficult to change or recharge their batteries in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). So energy efficiency is a central challenge in WSNs. The radio is a major contributor to overall energy consumption of nodes. Due to limited energy supplies, reducing energy consumption is an important goal in WSNs. In this paper, a mathematical energy model to evaluate the energy consumption, based on current traffic conditions is presented. We analyzed the performance of different Medium Access Control (MAC) protocols IEEE 802.15.4, and Data-Gathering Medium Access Control (DMAC) with Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Impulse using the proposed mathematical energy model under variable data rates. Analytical results show that RFID Impulse gives lower energy consumption in comparison of IEEE 802.15.4 and D-MAC in low traffic scenario.