An improved harvested energy management mechanism for wireless sensor networks

Abstract

Wireless sensor networks (WSN) play a vital role in monitoring and communication applications, but their performance is often constrained by limited battery power. Energy harvesting (EH) technologies have emerged as a promising solution to extend network lifetime by supplying supplementary energy from the environment. However, efficiently balancing harvested and consumed energy remains a significant challenge. This paper introduces an improved harvested energy management mechanism (IHE2M) that dynamically adjusts the duty cycle of sensor nodes based on residual energy availability. Unlike traditional approaches that rely on fixed duty cycles, IHE2M allows each node to determine its sleep and active periods adaptively, reducing collisions, idle listening, and unnecessary retransmissions. The mechanism was evaluated through OMNeT++/MiXiM simulations and compared with existing schemes such as EH2M and dynamic source routing (DSR). Results demonstrate that IHE2M achieves higher packet delivery ratios, lower latency, and better throughput while reducing average energy consumption per node. The findings confirm that IHE2M provides a more sustainable and efficient solution for energy harvesting WSN, improving reliability and extending network lifetime.