Using Supercapacitors as a Sustainable Energy Storage Solution for Battery-less IoT Devices

The increasing use of Internet of Things (IoT) low-power devices powered by batteries has raised concerns over the time-consuming and costly task of replacing or recharging batteries, along with associated environmental risks. To address these challenges, energy harvesting methods have been applied to IoT devices, with supercapacitors emerging as a reliable and cost-effective energy storage solution. This paper evaluates the use of supercapacitors as a sustainable energy storage solution for low-power IoT communication mechanisms, focusing on the LoRa and nRF technologies. The study presents theoretical foundations of how of a solar panel can sustainably charge supercapacitors and power IoT systems for typical communication operations. The feasibility of using supercapacitors mainly for LoRa but also for nRF communication is explored using testbed experiments. The results demonstrate the potential of supercapacitors to power IoT devices sustainably, offering a promising alternative to traditional battery-powered systems.