Utilizing solar power in wireless sensor networks

Sensor networks are designed especially for deployment in adverse and non-accessible areas without a fixed infrastructure. Therefore, energy conservation plays a crucial role for these networks. We propose to utilize solar power in wireless sensor networks, establishing a topology where, changing over time, some nodes can receive and transmit packets without consuming the limited battery resources. We propose and evaluate two protocols that perform solar-aware routing. The presented simulation results show that both protocols provide significant energy savings when utilizing solar power. The paper shows that incorporating the solar status of nodes in the routing decision is feasible and results in reduced overall battery consumption.