Autonomous WiFi Sensor for Heating Systems in the Internet of Things

Abstract

In smart cities and home applications, the use of Wireless Sensor Networks to extract environmental data becomes more common with the passing of time. These sensors are used for a wide array of applications, but mainly to manage energy consumption in domestic buildings. One of the key energy consumers in households is heating systems. To monitor them, sensors are used with wireless communication protocols, like ZigBee, to transmit data to a central processing unit (CPU). WiFi communications, on the contrary, are rarely seen in these implementations due to its high energy consumption, although almost in every home one can find such networks. Yet, with the Internet of Things (IoT), new revisions of the standard have arisen which enable this technology for wireless sensing. To validate this theory and fill a technological necessity, this proposal is presented. In this work, the design and implementation of an autonomous WiFi sensor, paired with thermoelectric energy harvesting, are presented as an IoT solution for monitoring heating devices. For this, a thorough analysis of the proposed architecture is presented. Tests regarding energy consumption and generation, efficiency, and real world scenario trials are done. Finalizing, a comparison between the obtained results and current implementations is shown.

A Comprehensive Review on Energy Harvesting Integration in IoT Systems from MAC Layer Perspective: Challenges and Opportunities

“…This amount of harvested energy adds to the battery and prolongs its operational lifetime. For instance, the waste heat from a central heating installation, can extend the operational lifetime of the batteries in a monitoring system powered based on a WiFi communication technology [ 141 ]. Based on the size of the solar cells and the amount of illumination of the sun, solar energy harvester modules can keep devices powered by extending the battery’s lifetime, which operate under LPWAN technologies [ 139 ].…”

“…Experimental analyses in literature on the suitability of specific energy harvesters with IoT technologies[139,[141][142][143][144].…”

WISE: MQTT-based Protocol for IP Device Provisioning and Abstraction in IoT Solutions

“…As some of these devices require mobility, they must be battery-powered, and their battery lifespan is an issue that needs to be addressed accordingly. While thermoelectric energy harvesting was used to build autonomous WiFi sensors for a heating system [12], it has also been shown that multiple years of battery lifetime are possible for WiFi sensors, in the case of periodic data transmission at high data rates [13]. This corresponds with the principle of device hibernation already supported by the specialized IoT technologies [2]- [4].…”

A Review of IoT Firmware Vulnerabilities and Auditing Techniques

“…Internet of Things (IoT) devices have become ubiquitous in a wide range of areas, including Industry 4.0, smart homes, smart cities, healthcare systems, the automotive sector, public services, and critical infrastructure [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ]. The anticipated deployment of future generations of mobile access [ 10 ] and Low-Power Wide Area Networks (LPWAN) [ 11 ] technologies will see greater investment and drive the evolution of the IoT ecosystem [ 12 , 13 ].…”