Design optimization of a RES-based power-supply system for Wireless Sensor Networks

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are widely used during the last years in various environmental and industrial applications and they are frequently installed in geographically isolated areas, where access to electricity is not available. In such cases, the WSN nodes are power-supplied by Renewable Energy Sources (RES), accompanied by energy-storage units. In this paper, a design optimization method is presented for deriving the optimal configuration of the RES-based energy production system of a WSN node, such that its total lifetime cost is minimized, while simultaneously it is guaranteed that the data-acquisition equipment of the WSN node is uninterruptedly power-supplied during the entire year. The design results verify that by applying the proposed optimization technique, RES-based power-supply structures with a lower lifetime cost are derived, compared to the non-optimally designed configurations. Experimental results are also presented, demonstrating the successful operation of a RES-based power-supply system, which has been optimally designed using the proposed method.