IoT Energy Estimator
A suite of professional engineering calculators and AI utilities. Free, private, and designed for deep tech analysis.
Calculate Battery Autonomy
Simulate battery life for deep-sleep IoT devices with industrial-grade physics models including self-discharge, temperature derating, and efficiency losses.
Professional-Grade Analysis
Unlike simple calculators, we model real battery physics
Physics-Based Models
Month-by-month self-discharge scenarios, chemistry-specific temperature assumptions and protocol connection-spike estimates. Validate the chosen profile against measured device current and manufacturer battery data.
- → Temperature derating coefficients
- → Capacity degradation over time
- → Radio transmission spikes
Advanced Configuration
Model parallel/series battery packs, voltage regulator efficiency, and complex duty cycle profiles for production-accurate estimates.
- → Multi-battery configurations
- → Buck/LDO efficiency modeling
- → Custom sleep/wake profiles
Comparison & Reports
Compare up to 3 configurations side-by-side with automatic winner detection. Export professional PDF reports for documentation.
- → Multi-config comparison mode
- → Capacity degradation charts
- → One-click PDF export
Comprehensive Technology Support
Common protocol profiles, battery families and device scenarios
📡 Communication Protocols
- • WiFi (ESP32, ESP8266, Pico W)
- • Bluetooth BLE (nRF52, ESP32-C3)
- • LoRaWAN (SX1262, SX1276)
- • Cellular (NB-IoT, LTE-M, GSM)
- • Zigbee & Thread Mesh
- • Sigfox LPWAN
🔋 Battery Chemistries
- • Li-SOCl₂ (low-drain, long-life option)
- • Li-Ion 18650 Cells
- • LiPo Flat Packs
- • Alkaline AA/AAA
- • Lithium Iron Disulfide
- • NiMH Rechargeable
- • Coin Cells (CR2032, CR123)
🎯 Device Presets
- • 🌡️ Weather Station
- • 🚪 Door/Window Sensor
- • 💧 Soil Moisture Monitor
- • 📍 GPS Asset Tracker
- • 🏭 Industrial Sensor
- • 🌲 Wildlife Camera
Real-World Applications
From agriculture to industrial monitoring
Smart Agriculture
Soil moisture sensors, weather stations, and livestock trackers with 3–5 year battery life using Li-SOCl₂ + LoRa.
Industrial Monitoring
Vibration sensors, temperature monitors in manufacturing with extreme conditions and 5–10 year autonomy.
Smart Buildings
Occupancy sensors, door monitors with predictable 2–4 year replacement schedules using coin cells + BLE.
Why Accuracy Matters
Most calculators use oversimplified math. We use industrial physics.
❌ Simple Calculators
- Ignore self-discharge
Can overestimate by 40%+ - Constant capacity
Miss –50% at 0°C for alkaline - No connection spikes
WiFi uses 2–3× during handshake - 100% efficiency assumed
Regulators waste 10–20% as heat
✅ WireUnwired Pro
- Month-by-month simulation
Self-discharge compounds properly - Chemistry-specific curves
Different derating per battery type - Protocol spike modeling
Cellular 2.5×, WiFi 1.8×, BLE 1.3× - Regulator efficiency
Buck vs LDO loss calculation
📊 Validate Against Real Measurements
For dependable engineering estimates, compare the simulation with a measured device current profile and a controlled battery test. Measure sleep current, transmit/receive spikes and duty cycle; results also depend on firmware, temperature, chemistry, cell history, regulator losses and cutoff voltage. This page does not claim a universal prediction-error guarantee.
Methodology & validation
Treat battery life as a measured scenario—not a guarantee.
At a basic level, runtime depends on usable battery capacity divided by average battery current. Real devices need more: sleep and active-state currents, transmit/receive bursts, reconnect retries, regulator quiescent current and efficiency, temperature, end-of-life capacity, voltage cutoff, and battery self-discharge all affect the result. A long runtime estimate can be optimistic if peak loads cause voltage sag or the cell cannot support the pulse current.
- Measure sleep, transmit and receive current on the actual firmware and hardware. State the sampling window and operating mode.
- Choose the exact battery model and use its manufacturer discharge curves, temperature limits, continuous-current limits and pulse guidance—not generic chemistry averages.
- Run a controlled bench test at representative temperatures and duty cycles. Compare measured runtime with the estimate before committing to a deployment life claim.
- Model a conservative margin for cell variation, ageing, cold temperature, network retries and end-of-life voltage. Do not size from nominal mAh alone.
For example, Li-SOCl₂ cells can suit very-low-current long-life devices, but pulse capability depends on the specific cell construction and pulse profile. Consult the Saft LS/LSH/LSP product data or the EVE Li-SOCl₂ specifications for the actual cell you plan to use.
Methodology note reviewed 29 October 2026. This calculator is a planning aid; no independent validation dataset or universal prediction-error figure is being claimed on this page.
Frequently Asked Questions
❓ How accurate is this calculator?
Prediction accuracy depends on the input current profile and field conditions. Sleep current, transmit/receive spikes and duty cycle matter greatly—measure them on the real device and compare predicted with observed runtime before deployment.
We use physics-based models including month-by-month self-discharge, chemistry-specific temperature curves, protocol connection spikes, and voltage regulator efficiency.
❓ Best battery for 5+ year IoT deployments?
Li-SOCl₂ (Lithium Thionyl Chloride) is the gold standard:
- Extremely low self-discharge (0.1% vs 3–5% for alkaline)
- Excellent temperature range (–40°C to +85°C)
- High energy density, stable voltage
- Available in AA and D-cell sizes
For rechargeable or high-current needs, use LiPo/Li-Ion. Avoid alkaline in cold.
❓ LoRa vs WiFi vs Cellular — which saves battery?
Same battery (2400 mAh), same duty cycle (5 s active / 60 min sleep):
- LoRa SX1262: ~5.2 years (22 mA active)
- BLE nRF52: ~4.8 years (8 mA active)
- WiFi ESP32: ~0.3 years (240 mA active)
- Cellular NB-IoT: ~0.2 years (250 mA + spikes)
Winner: LoRa — low power + 10 km+ range.
❓ Can I export my calculations?
Yes — click "Export PDF Report" for a professional report with config, results, metrics, and timestamp. Perfect for docs and client proposals.
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