Power Profile Analyzer
Inspect how sleep time, active work, radio bursts, and battery assumptions shape an IoT power profile.
Power Profile Analyzer
Watch one IoT duty cycle move through sleep, wake, sensing, compute, burst, and return-to-sleep states. The timeline shows when current is drawn; the metrics show what that means for battery life and peak-current risk.
Goal
Separate peak current from average current, then find which state dominates the energy budget.
Try First
Use the environmental node, increase the wake interval, and watch sleep time lower average current.
Watch
The moving marker, state table, energy bars, and diagnosis all update from the same profile.
Why It Matters
A tiny average current can still fail if the battery or regulator cannot supply the short transmit peak.
Timeline View
The timeline view compresses long sleep periods so short active bursts remain visible; the math uses real durations.
Average Current Rule
Iavg = sum(Istate x tstate) / Tcycle.
Long sleep time pulls the average below active-state current.Battery Life Rule
Life hours = usable battery capacity in mAh / average current in mA.
Battery life depends on usable capacity, not nameplate capacity alone.Peak Rule
Average current does not prove the battery can supply a transmit or actuation peak.
Check the burst current against battery and regulator limits.Beginner Ramp
- Peak current: the highest instant current, often radio or actuation.
- Average current: the current that would use the same charge over the full cycle.
- Duty cycle: active time divided by total cycle time.
- Energy per cycle: voltage x current x time across every state.
Quick Reference
- Reduce sleep current when the device is asleep most of the time.
- Reduce burst duration or current when communication dominates energy.
- Increase wake interval only if the application can tolerate less frequent data.
- Measure real hardware because datasheet currents are often idealized.
Decision Pattern
- List every power state in one complete cycle.
- Measure or estimate current and duration for each state.
- Calculate average current and energy share.
- Check peak-current delivery separately.
- Validate with a current probe before deployment.
Common Mistakes
- Using peak current as battery-life current.
- Ignoring microamp leakage during long sleep intervals.
- Counting battery nameplate capacity as fully usable in cold or high-pulse conditions.
- Leaving sensors, pull-ups, regulators, or radios partially powered in sleep.
Technical Accuracy Notes
- The timeline uses compressed visual widths for teaching; numeric results use real durations.
- Current is tracked in mA, time in seconds, and energy in mJ because V x mA x s = mJ. This teaching model uses a 3.0 V supply for energy bars.
- Battery life is an estimate: usable mAh divided by average mA. It does not model discharge curves or temperature chemistry in detail.
- Coin cells and small regulators can fail at high pulse current even when average current looks safe.
Application Notes
- Environmental sensors usually benefit most from longer sleep intervals and lower sleep leakage.
- Asset trackers often spend energy on GNSS acquisition and cellular or LPWAN bursts.
- Actuators and cameras need peak-current design before battery-life claims are trusted.
Practice 1
Select Environmental node. Double the wake interval and explain why peak current stays the same while average current falls.
Practice 2
Select BLE beacon. Increase sleep current and notice why microamps matter when intervals are short but frequent.
Practice 3
Select Camera burst. Use Energy view to decide whether capture, compute, or burst duration is the first optimization target.