Comparative Analysis Of Solar Powered Base Stations For Green

Are solar powered base stations a good idea?

Base stations that are powered by energy harvested from solar radiation not only reduce the carbon footprint of cellular networks, they can also be implemented with lower capital cost as compared to those using grid or conventional sources of energy . There is a second factor driving the interest in solar powered base stations.

Are solar powered cellular base stations a viable solution?

Cellular base stations powered by renewable energy sources such as solar power have emerged as one of the promising solutions to these issues. This article presents an overview of the state-of-the-art in the design and deployment of solar powered cellular base stations.

What are the components of a solar powered base station?

solar powered BS typically consists of PV panels, bat- teries, an integrated power unit, and the load. This section describes these components. Photovoltaic panels are arrays of solar PV cells to convert the solar energy to electricity, thus providing the power to run the base station and to charge the batteries.

How much power does a base station use?

BSs are categorized according to their power consumption in descending order as: macro, micro, mini and femto. Among these, macro base stations are the primary ones in terms of deployment and have power consumption ranging from 0.5 to 2 kW. BSs consume around 60% of the overall power consumption in cellular networks.

How much power does a macro base station use?

Among these, macro base stations are the primary ones in terms of deployment and have power consumption ranging from 0.5 to 2 kW. BSs consume around 60% of the overall power consumption in cellular networks. Thus one of the most promising solutions for green cellular networks is BSs that are powered by solar energy.

How to make base station (BS) green and energy efficient?

This paper aims to consolidate the work carried out in making base station (BS) green and energy efficient by integrating renewable energy sources (RES). Clean and green technologies are mandatory for reduction of carbon footprint in future cellular networks.