Battery-less Power & Control Platform for Outdoor IoT
A solar-powered IoT Node for monitoring and controlling sensors and actuators—without batteries, without maintenance
Designed as a modular platform for developers and system integrators
Modular hardware platform for environment monitoring and actuator control
Built for developers, integrators, and solution providers
Production-ready electronics with reference firmware
Build your own software—fully flexible, no vendor dependency
About the Platform
KEY FEATURES
No Battery Operation
Runs entirely on harvested solar energy stored in supercapacitors
High-Power Outputs
Generates 9V / 12V / 24V for actuators
Wireless Connectivity
WiFi, LoRa, or GSM integration.
Ultra-Low Power Design
Sleep-based operation with millisecond wake cycles
APPLICATIONS
Smart Farming
Irrigation valve control
Soil monitoring
Smart Infrastructure
Remote environmental monitoring
Parking systems
Traffic sensors
IoT Networks
Distributed sensor grids
This project presents a battery-less solar-powered IoT node capable of driving actuators such as irrigation valves while maintaining wireless communication. Energy is harvested via a small solar panel and stored in supercapacitors, enabling:
Maintenance-free operation without battery replacement
Reliable performance even during several days of low sunlight
High-current bursts for actuator control
Components
PCB No.1
Control & Communication
ESP32-C3-based board operating primarily in deep sleep for ultra-low power consumption. Programmable via USB-C or UART. Features 7 Grove-compatible connectors for easy integration with third-party modules. Supports Wi-Fi, GSM, and LoRa (with appropriate modules).
PCB No.2
Power & Actuation
The board features a boost converter with an input range of 3–5 V and selectable output voltages of 9 V, 12 V, or 24 V, supporting up to 2 A of output current. It includes four H-bridge channels for controlling external devices such as valves, actuators, and relays.
Additional Modules
This is a modular platform that can be easily adapted to different applications. It offers Grove compatibility, enabling integration with a wide range of third-party sensors and modules. Multiple communication options are supported; for GSM/GPRS communication, the cost-effective SIM800L module can be used. The system features an expandable architecture, allowing additional supercapacitors to be connected via dedicated screw terminals.
Receiver
Any third-party ESP32-C3 microcontroller board can be used as a receiver in a multi-node system (e.g., XIAO ESP32-C3 or ESP32-C3 Dev Kit).
HOW IT WORKS
☀️⚡🔋
Solar panel charges supercapacitor
⬇
🌙💤
System sleeps to conserve energy
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⏱️👁️
Wakes briefly
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🔧🚰🌡️📡
Executes action
(valve / sensor / transmission)
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🔁🌙💤
Returns to sleep
Operates for 3 days without sunlight
Up to 3 days of operation without sunlight is achieved by minimizing energy consumption: infrequent actuator activity, communication intervals longer than 1 hour, and wake-up times of around 30 ms. This setup is suitable for low-power tasks such as periodic sensor readings
The Key Benefits
benefit 1
24V or 2Apk Power Outputs
benefit 2
No battery replacement
benefit 3
3rd party compatible HW/SW
benefit 4
Open source
Have an idea for your own application?
- What would you build with this platform?
- Which communication option matters most to you?
- What sensors or actuators would you use?
- How would you optimize communication for low power consumption?
