The Impact of Dynamic Scaling on Energy Consumption at Node Level in Wireless Sensor Networks

Energy efficiency is one of the critical issues in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) due to limited capacity of batteries of its sensor nodes. This paper investigates the impact of dynamic scaling of parameters such as modulation scheme, voltage or frequency which reduces energy consumption of sensor node. The performance is evaluated mathematically for scaling of voltage and frequency dynamically. This approach is used to dynamically adjust frequency and voltage of processing unit according to actual system load to save computational power without degrading its performance. We focused on the fact that energy consumed by wireless sensor node is the product of power consumed and the time for any operating mode, the reduction in the value of either parameter such as voltage, frequency and varying modulation scheme may result in saving of huge energy. The impact of various modulation schemes at different frequency bands and operating modes on energy consumption of sensor node is evaluated using QUALNET 6.01 Simulator.