How do you optimize battery life and power consumption of cellular IoT devices?

1 Choose the right cellular technology

Depending on your use case and requirements, you may want to choose the most suitable cellular technology for your IoT devices. For example, if you need low data rates, long range, and low cost, you may opt for low-power wide-area (LPWA) technologies such as NB-IoT or LTE-M. These technologies are designed to provide better coverage, lower device complexity, and longer battery life than traditional cellular technologies. However, if you need higher data rates, lower latency, or more advanced features, you may prefer 4G or 5G technologies, which offer higher performance and more capabilities, but also consume more power and require more complex devices.

2 Use power saving modes

Most cellular IoT devices support various power saving modes that can help you reduce the power consumption and extend the battery life of your devices. For example, you can use power saving mode (PSM) or extended discontinuous reception (eDRX) to enable your devices to enter a low-power state when they are not transmitting or receiving data, and wake up periodically to communicate with the network. You can also use adaptive power control (APC) or transmit power control (TPC) to adjust the transmit power of your devices according to the signal quality and the distance from the base station, and avoid wasting power on unnecessary transmissions.

3 Optimize data transmission

Another way to optimize your cellular IoT devices is to optimize the data transmission frequency, size, and format of your devices. For example, you can use data compression, encryption, or aggregation techniques to reduce the data size and increase the security of your data. You can also use data scheduling, buffering, or batching techniques to reduce the data transmission frequency and avoid unnecessary network connections or retransmissions. You can also use data formats that are compatible with your cellular technology and network infrastructure, and avoid using formats that require more processing or conversion.

4 Manage device firmware and software

The firmware and software of your cellular IoT devices can also affect the battery life and power consumption of your devices. Therefore, you should manage your device firmware and software updates carefully and efficiently. For example, you can use over-the-air (OTA) updates to remotely update your devices without requiring physical access or manual intervention. You can also use delta updates to only send the changes or patches of your firmware or software, rather than the entire files, and save bandwidth and power. You can also use device management platforms or tools to monitor, control, and optimize your device firmware and software remotely and securely.

5 Test and measure device performance

Finally, you should test and measure the performance of your cellular IoT devices regularly and accurately, and identify any issues or opportunities for improvement. For example, you can use power analyzers, network analyzers, or simulators to measure the power consumption, signal quality, data throughput, or latency of your devices under different scenarios and conditions. You can also use device diagnostics, logging, or reporting features to collect and analyze the device data and performance metrics, and troubleshoot any problems or errors. You can also use device benchmarks, standards, or certifications to compare and evaluate your device performance against the industry best practices or requirements.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?