#58 ESP8266 Sensor runs 17 days on a coin cell/transmits data (deep-sleep)

[@xennelul]

I ran my ESP8266 from a 400mah Li-Ion battery for 20 days, measuring battery voltage at 10 minute intervals. Thanks again for your awesome and inspiring videos!

[@AndreasSpiess]

+xennelul Thanks for your feedback. Glad it worked

[@asiw]

Fantastic. Love the clarity of your explanations and the level of detail that you include. It has given me lots of ideas to experiment with and your Sketch is a wonderful starting point. You make life with the ESP8266 much easier that it would otherwise be.

[@AndreasSpiess]

Thanks for your nice comment. I am glad I can help. This is why I do my videos. I also learn a lot from other videos.

[@hvanmegen]

episode numbers: +1, english much improved: +1, calculations explained: +1 ... you're awesome, thanks for these nice and informative videos!!

[@AndreasSpiess]

+Henry van Megen Thank you for the nice comment.

[@Slider2732]

I kept pausing to go and buy things LOL For example, those HT7333's have replaced my LM1117's now after this great video ! Very enjoyable and informative Andreas, thanks.

[@AndreasSpiess]

I think, the HT7333 are a very good replacement for the 1117 and not very expensive...

[@RichardEricCollins]

LoL I did that with the last video of his I watched. :)

[@DrTune]

worth pointing out that there is some tradeoff between quiescent current and maximum input voltage; HT7333 only goes up to 12v; LM1117 up to 20v, last time I looked this seemed consistent across LDOs

[@davidhsieh2761]

And 250mA max but the LM1117 thing will run way too hot at 20V...even at 12V with a high enough current draw

[@tigransardaryan9298]

use MCP1703 or MIC5219 (if you need to be able control flow) instead

[@jct4647]

Brilliant video +Andreas Spiess, thanks.

[@AndreasSpiess]

+Johan van den berg You are welcome!

[@3amali1]

17 people have pressed the dislike button,, Seriously?! the guy is giving you free knowledge and you give back a dislike!

[@AndreasSpiess]

+Ehab Saleh ايهاب صالح There are always a few dislikes. But usually without comment.

There is no need to worry about dislikes on a video. Consider them as "noises".

[@Jemacaza]

probably uncontrolled spasms of excitement

[@tbyte007]

Some people press dislike accidentally and never notice. And it goes from grey to black which is really far from a bright idea :)

[@BarackBananabama]

They are battery sellers. Any information regarding low power usage sucks.

[@glikar1]

Thanks Andreas, I've often wondered how to calculate loads vs capacity. Using ma/sec and cycles makes sense.

[@AndreasSpiess]

:-)

[@zekoboss810]

I have not seen anyone explain better than you Thank you♥

[@AndreasSpiess]

Thank you for your compliment!

[@DM-qm5sc]

Thank you for the time you take to make these videos, and for sharing your knowledge!

[@AndreasSpiess]

You are welcome. I am glad if people like you watch them. So, it is worth the work...

[@robertparenton7470]

Thank You for Valuable Videos and Your Time. I appreciate all!

[@AndreasSpiess]

You are welcome!

[@9549549543]

Hi Andreas, Hope you are keeping well.. I am not a technical person your explanations in this video is very easy to understand. I watched on ESP 8266 more than 100 video really its very helpful in my project.

[@AndreasSpiess]

Thank you for your feedback. I am happy if my videos are helpful for others achieving their goals.

[@youreale]

Thanks for posting such detailed work in this series. Very appreciated!

[@AndreasSpiess]

You are welcome!

[@robertkes]

I have to say, I love it. I already learned more than I expected today!

[@AndreasSpiess]

+Robert Kesek Very good! Thank you for your nice comments.

[@DaveHuntMaker]

Excellent video, Andreas. Great info on the regulators! :)

[@AndreasSpiess]

Thanks!

[@mt-qc2qh]

Great coverage, Andreas. Keep them coming!

[@AndreasSpiess]

+m t Thanks!. The next two are already in the works.

[@zebrahuhn5899]

Hi Andreas! Very good video, again. Just one tiny remark: If you have no connection from GPIO16 to reset pin, the ESP does not stay in deep sleep. It (kind of) wakes up in a weird state and does not continue to run the code, but consumes about 15mA. So that's even worse than staying in deep sleep. ;-)

[@AndreasSpiess]

+Zebrahuhn Thanks for this addition. I did not try it myself.

[@saintpine]

I'm from the other side of the Alps, I enjoyed your video, well done. And obviously I subscribed.

[@AndreasSpiess]

We here love your side of the alps (especially in these cold times)...

[@rootdev8106]

Super erklärt, vielen Dank! Deine Beispielrechnung hat mir sehr in meinem batteriebetriebenen ESP32-Projekt geholfen :)

[@AndreasSpiess]

Gern geschehen!

[@artlasvegas2004]

Video is a little old, but, THANK YOU VERY MUCH for all the time you put in to give so much knowledge back to the WORLD. Always enjoy you r videos lessons.

[@AndreasSpiess]

Thank you!

[@jeffhill6769]

Really appreciate your great work on these videos. Tremendously instructive!

[@AndreasSpiess]

Thank you!

[@CarlosEcheverriaOne]

Sure is an interesting topic to give the best attention possible. For sure my dear Switzerland accent guy, that was a delightful explanation of battery consumption on ESP-8266 module. Thanks a lot for sharing soo good knowledge..! 😃😃

[@AndreasSpiess]

You are welcome!

[@mmendesrs]

Very good explanation with all hardware details!

[@AndreasSpiess]

Thank you for your compliment!

[@Peter_S_]

You make excellent videos! Thank you for your work and educating others (like me)!

[@AndreasSpiess]

You're welcome!

[@aleksandertoth8764]

Thanks for the explanations. This regulator will help me a lot.

[@AndreasSpiess]

Glad to help!

[@deangreenhough3479]

Hi Andreas, Hope you are keeping well.. Thank you for another great video, you just keep getting better and better. I m working with a small solar cell, 2 x 10F super capacitors and a TPS61200, just got the super capacitors today, so testing them now I have been running an ESP from a 4.2v - 3.7v Li ion 18650 through a MP1405 (TP4056 .with battery protection and load cut off) in deepSleep with 60sec cycle. Transmits DHT temp/hum and ADC_VCC to Thingspeak Surprisingly, it tolerates the voltage and has been running for 2 weeks without a glitch. The battery is also fully charged. I know this is naughty, but just wanted to see if it would work. Could it be the deepSleep and short awake time be a contributing factor to this? My ESP 4MB chips arrived today along with my hot air rework gun. Many thanks for making all this possible Andreas, your work and methodology make you a great teacher. Massive thumbs up, keep them coming

[@AndreasSpiess]

+Dean Greenhough I also tried my ESP module with voltages above 3.6 volts, but it was no more reliable. So, I think, you just got a different batch. I do not think, that the on-off time has an influence on this because the main work is the on- time. As I did not respond for a week, I think, you have already changed the RAMs with your new hotair gun ;-) I never worked with super capacitors, so I am interested in how long they are able to power an ESP module. My ESP with 2 AAA batteries on a 2 minute schedule still transmits data to Sparkfun. It is now 16 days since it started.

[@deangreenhough3479]

+Andreas Spiess changing the RAM was shall we say a little tricky. The soldering of the new chip was a little more of a challenge, but you showed us how to deal with that. I have changed 4 chips. I have noted that the ESP 01 black version has a 1mB chip, which is the same size as the 4mB chip, so no alteration to the legs required. I read somewhere that the ESP 01 is less power hungry. So would like to get this working with deep sleep the only issue I have found is attempting to solder such a small wire from RST -GPIO16 😂😂😂 it appears impossible. FYI after I changed the Ram, in all four cases, I could upload. But the program failed to run. After reworking each pin, all went well, so I was to blame. The TPS61200 Tiny Module is proving to be a tricky little module to work with. I have managed 29mins with a single solar cell and 2 X 10F caps. With ESP201 led removed, deep sleep 60s sending DHT22 and mV via ADC to things.

[@deangreenhough3479]

+Andreas Spiess The TPS61200 I have is factory set to 250mV so acts like a jewel thief, no good for rechargeable batteries. You can alter this, but requires a 0.1F SMD CAP and 2 X SMD resistors ( I have ordered from China) My initial test show that if I can get the UVLO set to disconnect the load at say 3v, disconnect the load, recharge and then run the ESP it should be able to transmit between 1-5 mins later with out any batteries. It all hinges on not depleting them down too far as charging from flat takes a lot of time. I like the fact this can almost be autonomous. In my case I have a known good light source for 12 hours, so whilst my system is running I get data transmitted for free. I would be interested and find it useful if you could possibly do a video with this module and super caps. I have a feeling you would like this module Thank you Andreas

[@AndreasSpiess]

+Dean Greenhough My thoughts concerning your comment: 1. What is the advantage to use a super cap with an ESP?. If I have no additional power source, I prefer a power source which has a high energy density. These are usually chemical batteries or at least rechargeable batteries if the device is quite power hungry. If solar power is used, again, a rechargeable battery seems for me the better choice because of its power density and low price. So, I do not see the advantage to use super caps for this purpose (only that they do not need an under-voltage protection) other than curiosity. But, maybe I am wrong. As I said, I do not know this technology. For the under-voltage protection I prefer the method described in the video: Send me an e-mail that I have to replace the battery. The under voltage protection just protects the battery. The mail protects the overall application and makes sure, that I do not "forget" to charge/change the batteries. But this, of course, only applies to connected devices... 2. What are the advantage to use power protectors or boost/buck converters for the same application? As you write, they "steel" valuable power without adding value. I see here the way to go either with a small linear regulator or better, no regulator at all, if battery voltage matches the range of the MCU. This is why I ordered some LIPOFE4 batteries which should fit exactly into the voltage range of our ESPs. From what I read, super caps seem to be quite good for extremely high currents. So, maybe it would be better to do something else with them?

[@deangreenhough3479]

+Andreas Spiess all very valid points, noted and gratefully received. Thank you for your observations and taking the time to reply

[@pjwlk]

Thanks Andreas for another great video. I've learned a few things today.

[@AndreasSpiess]

You are welcome!

[@JeremieFrancois]

Outstanding, complete and clear work. Second time I stumble upon one of your videos, I'm definitely a subscriber now :)

[@AndreasSpiess]

+Jeremie Francois Thank you for subscribing! Statistics show, that still 75% of my views come from not-subscribed viewers...

[@JeremieFrancois]

Andreas Spiess yep, I am also surprised that my 20K views/month blog is also invariably and overwhelmingly composed of newcomers. The outer world is always bigger I guess :)

[@Educ8s]

Great video! Thanks for sharing!

[@AndreasSpiess]

+educ8s.tv You are welcome.

[@arthurcastell3517]

Thank you for the great videos, they seriously are very inspiring! With respect to battery runtime I am still trying to figure out which is the best minimal setup for a bare ESP12F module (using FTDI for programming). I understand that you need the following pins connected: CH_PD/EN => Pullup; GPIO0 => Pullup (for running; GND for programming); GPIO15 => Pulldown. And, for stability reasons: GPIO02 => Pullup; RST => Pullup; Electrolytic capacitor 1000uF between VCC and GND (as pointed out in one of your videos). What are the best values for the external resistors (sometimes I read 10k and sometimes “the smaller the better”) if I am looking for minimal energy consumption and/or stability? Some pins have internal pullup/-down resistors would they be a better choice than external ones? And does the maximum voltage level of a capacitor does have any influence on energy consumption? I know, a lot of questions, but maybe you can help shed some light?

[@AndreasSpiess]

1. 10k should be ok 2. Big tantalum capacitors have a leakage current of a few uA. Conventional capacitors should be better

[@KobyLev]

Excellent video, interesting educational and practical - I've enjoined watching it.

[@AndreasSpiess]

Thanks for the compliment!

[@FrerkMeyer]

Excellent video. Exactly what I'm interested in when it comes to smarthome nodes based on the eps8266. I would send the data to my in-house openHAB server running on Raspi2, but that's the same from the viewpoint of the esp8266. My witty boards are in the mail and I can't wait to experiment with them.

[@AndreasSpiess]

+Frerk Meyer The witty boards might use current higher current also in sleep mode unless you disconnect the base PCB (which contain the serial to USB chip) and disconnect the LM1117 power regulator which is on the board itself. Or you do not need deep sleep. Then, the witty boards are ok.

[@MarcoRabelo]

Hi, Andreas! Congratulations for the great video! Can I use 1000uf 6.3v electrolytic capacitors instead of tantalum capacitors? Thank you!

[@AndreasSpiess]

Marco Rabelo yes, you can.

[@MarcoRabelo]

Thank you so much!

[@ahmedchaudhry9810]

Hey did u use bi-polar or non-polar capacitor?

[@BBConraD]

It was a great work, Mr. Andreas. Thanks for sharing and very helpful information. Respects...

[@AndreasSpiess]

You are welcome!

[@miikakurkela5606]

Thank you for the good an informative video, Anderas! Is the 10.000 uF tantalum capacitors leakage current relevant? Where did you buy yours?

[@AndreasSpiess]

+Miika Kurkela I have to confess: I made a mistake: The capacitors are only 1000uF! I just discovered when I was searching for the link. Sorry about that. I will immediately correct it in the video. Here the link: www.aliexpress.com/item/Free-Shipping-7343-1000UF-6-3V-E-7343-108J-SMD-Tantalum-capacitors-20PCS-LOT-New-and/32514902690.html

[@miikakurkela5606]

No problem! In your earlier video also 1000 uF were good enough too. Great video, important subject! I already found and ordered few from eBay www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=tantalum+1000uF+values&_sop=15&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p2045573.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.Xtantalum+1000uF.TRS0&_nkw=tantalum+1000uF&_sacat=0

[@BioMajuss]

Is there a way to calculate the needed capacitor size? I'am sure even 1000 uF is quite too big, isn't it?

[@myronreiss8502]

@@AndreasSpiess That makes a lot of difference. Your videos are great. And likely the only reason I started this hobby.

[@DRI1966]

Thank You again Andreas for this well presented and elaborate project. I learned a lot in this short time, I was not aware of the HT73xx , great thing to use in my future projects. Thank You again and stay safe. Best Regards, Didier (From Belgium ... The country of the best chocolates in the world ;) )

[@rapierfrosch5369]

Imagine writing this end Message to a Swiss Guy xD

[@the-matrix-has-you]

Hi Andreas, I have managed to descrease esp 12F's Power consumption to 159uA by removing the LDO of Wemos d1 mini I Power it with my custom deep sleep wake shield. The shield is using 100nf in parallel with 100uF in paralel capacitors to HT7333 then HT7333 3.3v output is connected to 100nF polyester film capacitor for filtering purposes then I added 1000uA 3000 hour lifetime %5 capacitor to reduce peaks as you mentioned in the video. Then this Power circuit Powers my deep sleep wake part of the circuit and that circuit itself with Power components just draw 1uA😀 I also watched your PIR sensor videos and I have choosen HC-SR-501 and modified it by removing Diode cause it was lowering the voltage and removed LDO of it then I bridged VIN and VOut of LDO pins now it draws 36,38 uA when it is idle. When my sensor detects movement the wake circuit wakes esp12F from deep sleep and keeps it open until task is done then it goes to deep sleep again. With modified HC-SR-501 PIR sensor my sensors total current draw is 210uA in deep sleep with clone wemos d1 mini😀 with my calculations it will Last for 346 days with 2000mAh Lithium-Ion battery with 3.8 volts with single charge. Thanks for tips for lowering Power. I am also full time 12 years of experience C, C++ and C# programmer so lowering run times was easy. You can lower your connection time even more. My sensors connects the wifi gateway in 500,600ms if you specify mac address😉 I might remove the blue LED as you suggested for lowering consumption even more! Thanks! Keep the content coming we love it😀

[@AndreasSpiess]

Very good work! And thank you for the writeup! With this low current consumption I probably would go for standard batteries as Li-Ion batteries do self-discharging.

[@RilosRanteS]

i wondering what type of capacitor u had installed? the 100nf and 100uf capacitor you mentioned above, thanks in advance

[@the-matrix-has-you]

@@RilosRanteS both of them 100nF tantalum to filter EMI 100uF for stabilising the voltage before LDO and also after LDO so I have used 5 capacitors in total for power regulation. Its not much of a deal really its a typical power regulation circuit. all components are wired in parallel input to 100nF tantalum to 100uF to LDO to 100uF to 100nF tantalum again to 1000uF 3000 hour capacitor that way voltage gets stabilised even more

[@gucluceyhan]

Andereas great video(s). I really like the way you approach the subjects. Really great work(s) and appreciate it!! Thank you!

[@AndreasSpiess]

Thanks for your nice comment!

[@plasticmirror]

im glad that youtube provides the option to step up the playback speed ... :D

[@kellyanderson7115]

Andreas, I looked up the specs on the HT7333 and it shows the quiescent at ~4mA not 4uA. Also a bit more digging shows the TI TPS78333 using an extraordinarily low 0.5uA, with a dropout voltage of 0.15V, it looks like it would be the perfect regulator for a sensor application.

[@AndreasSpiess]

Kelly Anderson Obviously, there are different data sheets around. Here, it has 4 uA: www.holtek.com.tw/documents/10179/fafea7fe-0c1e-4e6f-be98-64cdc6472624 So, the only possibility is to measure ;-)

[@jeffthom3155]

Another great video . Congratulations on teaching.

[@AndreasSpiess]

Thanks!

[@id513128]

Wow! Awesome. I live your solution for current spike. Thanks.

[@AndreasSpiess]

You are welcome!

[@cameron20020]

Did a similar thing with a lifepo4 cell and small (4cm*6cm) solar panel. The idle power usage while the esp sleeps is so low that I had to purposely keep the thing awake to stop the cell overcharging. Surprised it actually matches its datasheet power usage after you disconnect any external circuitry.

[@AndreasSpiess]

It shouldn't be a surprise parts meet specifications ;-)

[@justDIY]

Please post a follow-up in 17 days :) I'm curious to see if you actually achieve the calculated run-time of your setup. I've been experimenting with this as well and had very good results using 3x NiMH AA battery, in sub-zero weather (between -5 and -15 C). The experiment ran for approximately 40 days before one cell failed and ruined things. Prior to the cell failure, the experiment had used less than 10% of the battery capacity, determined by how much current was absorbed after warming to room temp and recharging.

[@AndreasSpiess]

+Gordon McLellan Maybe I will. For the moment I have quite a lot to do and not a lot of time. But later on, I can run it for a longer time. Your results seem also to be promising.

[@alexron5260]

+Gordon McLellan Why did it fail? poor quality batteries? what type of regulator did you use?

[@alexron5260]

oops, just realized the 3x NiMH batteries would be at 3.6 so a regulator would not be needed. Could you charge the batteries directly with a 3.3 volt cell solar panel without a charge circuit? from what I understand you have to charge NiMH at 1/10 capacity. a 3.3 volt cell like this Digikey part:869-1008-ND (3.3volt solarcell, 36mA) tied two together in parallel could get 72 Mah charge current. a 2200 mAh battery would only take 30 good sunlight hours to charge which is probably 4-6 days. Any thoughts from people that probably know alot more about this stuff?

[@AndreasSpiess]

+Alex Ron The solar panel has to have a higher volage than the batteries. Otherwise they are not charged. I am not sure if you in addition need a diode between the batteries and the panel. This would add another 0.7 volts to the solar panel.

[@justDIY]

+Alex Ron​ I don't know why one cell failed. It recharged OK and passed a cycle test, at room temp. Might just be old. After charging the batteries are at 4.5v for several hours, I used two 4001 diodes in series to drop the voltage.

[@fuzzie4755]

Hi Andreas, you use also the quite big white board to solder the ESP on it. Do have found in the meantime a smaller version that has the size (width) of the wemos shields? I see still only on aliexpress the white boards from the video. I really like the already included pullup resistors and the place to solder the voltage regulator. All great. Just a little big too big for my outdoor housings.

[@AndreasSpiess]

+Stefan Bode No, I never searched. Maybe you create your own. At Osh park they do not cost a lot...

[@yurymetphosis5766]

Those 6.3V 1000uF SMD Tantalum Capacitor had a leakage current of around 60uA too.

[@AndreasSpiess]

You are right. I had to learn that fact later on.

[@salomondenis9751]

Thank you Adreas, very usefull information.

[@AndreasSpiess]

You are welcome!

[@maruanjaber913]

Excelent video! Congratulations and thank's for sharing with us!

[@AndreasSpiess]

You're welcome! I also learned a lot with KZbin.

[@benfletcher7209]

Really enjoyed this video and found it very informative, its fantastic to be able to learn like this. Thank you Mr Spiess

[@AndreasSpiess]

You are welcome! There are a few more videos on ESP8266 and the newer ESP32 on my channel...

[@skrame01]

I've had good success with the 2CR1/3n 6V battery for powering small microcontroller current-intensive devices, it will provide 60mA steady and 80mA pulse, 160mAh for Li-ion type.

[@AndreasSpiess]

Thanks for the feedback!

[@fifaham]

@12:32 >>> and according to the 0.7 rule, we have 3500 x 0.7 = 2450 and this corresponds to about 18 hours, about the same calculated mA x hour. Good job - I always specify the number of hours based on the drop from MAX value of start value of fresh battery. I did similar work back in 2007 where I was able to have a mini security system to last for about 2 years while powering up from CR2032 (220 mA.H). It is a big challenge indeed.

[@fifaham]

Note that not all coin cell batteries have exactly the same electric curves - also some batteries ship to you not fully fresh (have been on store shelves for long), so it is good idea to test the battery with special device before selling to customers. Also it worth it to buy the high end for certain applications like Sony and Maxwell and the like. If you are mass producing your design then you must consider those seriously.

[@AndreasSpiess]

I agree that coin cell quality differs a lot. Fortunately they can be changed by the customer...

[@MKA667]

I don't know if someone else has already suggested this, but if you have a website you can write your own code (in PHP, for example) for sending emails, and program the ESP to send the HTTP request to that page (which is quite fast, and therefore consumes little battery) and go to sleep, then, whatever time the webserver requires for actually sending the email is not a problem the ESP should care about (as long as it is shorter than the interval between two requests, otherwise the ESP would overload the webserver). You can use a pre-shared key/protocol for encrypting your data, so that only your ESP will be able to send commands to that page, and only that page will be able to decrypt the content of the string sent by the ESP, even without SSL

[@AndreasSpiess]

You are right, there are many different ways. These days I use the MQTT protocol because it is lightweight and well accepted.

[@MKA667]

​@@AndreasSpiess I was mainly suggesting a way for sending emails (if really necessary) in much less time, rather than keeping the ESP on for 30 seconds, thus consuming much less energy from the battery (even though I agree that sending an email is usually not the best solution, because it makes harder to automatically collect and elaborate the data being sent.) As I said, one could also use symmetric encryption to secure the communication (from the ESP to your very own server), which is much simpler and computationally lighter than the asymmetric encryption required for a standard secure connection to an SMTP server. As for the cloud services, I watched some of your LoRa related videos, and noticed that some services have a limit in the number of messages than can be sent per day (which, of course, makes much more sense in the case of LoRa, mainly because of the radio channel being shared between as many devices as possible, which is definitely not the case here with the ESP), so I was just suggesting a way to work without external services. I'm pretty sure even an old unused Raspberry Pi model one (or a Zero, which uses the same hardware) could run whatever server one may decide to use, but chances are you could install and run it even on your router.

[@EZtech]

Please put the next episode on the FedEx truck, I can't wait to see more! The suspense is killing me. I took a cursory look at the code but can't figure it out. I have an esp8266 adafruit feather with a 3.7v lion 500mah battery and was getting just 4 1/2 days updating "adafruit io" once every hour. The esp would only go to sleep for one hour max. Great video, I don't see where you find the time for all this stuff.

[@AndreasSpiess]

+Revelation612 The feather has also other chips which might use current even if the ESP is in deep sleep (e.g. USB interface). This board is probably better for development.

[@miltoneduardososa378]

Sehr Interesantes Video! Sie haben die Spannungsregler und Kondensatoren (im video #47) wahl methode sehr gut erklären. Vielen dank für teilen ihre Ergebnis.

[@AndreasSpiess]

Bitte, gern geschehen!

[@markus1963nl]

Finally one last video topic suggestion on using the ESP8266, MQTT and security. While I have read on some forums that it is possible to run MQTT securely with TLS1.2 on the ESP using a native C Xtensa development toolchain, it would be really helpful to understand if you have ever explored doing this in an Arduino IDE environment for the ESP8266. Everything I have ever seen with the Arduino IDE is only using unsecured communications. Seems like something seriously holding back the IoT market. A two minute session with Wireshark exposes all hobbiest username/passwords with all of the newest MQTT services.

[@AndreasSpiess]

+Mark Troyer So far I did not try secure communication. I am not sure if it is easily possible ith the EXP8266. My opinion is, that the thigs I transfer are not really important nor are they valuable. So, the chance of a problem is rather small for me. For seure communications we probably have to wait for the ESP32.

[@markus1963nl]

For another video, it would be interesting to hear about the rtc memory functions you are calling to keep state between sleeps. This issue of persistence has been on my list for storing known SSID/Password entries entered via AP most. A video on this topic would be really helpful.

[@deangreenhough3479]

I agree, RTC explained by the guy with the Swiss accent is required

[@AndreasSpiess]

+Dean Greenhough In the works...

[@PsiQ]

If not finished yet: how much energy/time would it take to wake up just to get ntp time from router, then go back to sleep. perhaps combine with software correction of time deviation of internal clock. Nice videos & explanations 😄

[@alphonsesynrem28]

Always good!! Very informative and detailed, I didn't know much though, sorry. Thank you. I am learning new things watching your hard works.

[@AndreasSpiess]

:-)

[@fromchinaparcel]

Many thanks for the info about HT7333. Will use it in weather station outdoor with one 18650 LiPo battery. Greetings from Russian viewers)

[@AndreasSpiess]

Thank you. Did you see the Russian subtitles for a few videos?

[@fromchinaparcel]

No. I didn't. Can you give me a link? Also could you, please, give me advise: If I want to power my ESP8266 from LiPo18650 and will use HT7333 for stabilisation - it means that i will use only part of 18650 capacity, because HT7333 will stop work at 3,45 V (3.3+dropdown). But lower level of voltage on 18650 (fully discharged) is about 2.5 V. how to use it's capacity from 3.45v to 2.5v ?

[@fromchinaparcel]

I hope you catch my question)

[@fromchinaparcel]

I hope you just forgot to answer my question?

[@AndreasSpiess]

This is not the behavior I accept. I will not answer therefore

[@rubenfernandez9603]

Wow! Thanks for your time creating this great videos :)

[@AndreasSpiess]

You're welcome!

[@jims408]

Hello guy with the Swiss accent. :) What a wonderful channel you have. I am so glad I found it. You explore really interesting topics and explain things very well; easy to understand. I am curious if you are an engineer by training or just picked things up on your own? Thank you!

[@AndreasSpiess]

+jims408 Thanks for the compliment! Yes, I am a trained electronics engineer, but did not work on my profession for years. Now I am old enough to do what I want. Therefore, I started my hobby again. The times are very interesting with all these modules you can get for nearly no money...

[@osvathors979]

Sali Andreas , ich bin eine großes Fan vom deine Videos, habe sehr viel gelernt. Leider kann ich die LDO HT7333 hier nicht beschaffen.Kannst Du bitte eine alternative LDO empfehlen? Gruess Örs

[@AndreasSpiess]

Du findest ihn auf Aliexpress. Ich kenn auf die Schnelle keinen andern

[@KisysLLC]

Just found your video's and am really enjoying them. With 2 alkaline battery's what do you consider the minimum voltage before replacing them. You wouldn't even start out with 3.3 vdc and can't imagine that would work.

[@AndreasSpiess]

It is well below 3 volts. You might try it, I did not make exact measurements about this fact. And I am not at home to do the measurements again. As the overlay says, it worket for 19 days with my setup of sending a measurement every 2 minutes.

[@myounges]

Excellent video thank very much Andreas!!!

[@AndreasSpiess]

You're welcome!

[@gordonw9208]

I have a LM1117 that i use to provide 3.3v for breadboard projects. It uses 10mA all the time, so not good for battery use. The HT7333 sounds promising for my solar powered esp12.

[@AndreasSpiess]

I agree

[@dynetah]

Great video... as usual ! I'm thinking of running an ESP from a battery also, so you are a great inspiration. However, I know almost nothing in passive components. I understand there is a need of a capacitor for removing peaks of current, but I can't find those huge 10 000 uF capacitors. Is it possible to put an électrolytic one instead ? In the video you said there are huge. Is a 300 uF enough ?

[@AndreasSpiess]

A 1000uF electrolytic cap is even better than a tantalum. The big tantalunms have a leakage current.

[@marcelocorrea7916]

hi there, congrats, great video. What RTC ic you are thinking to use when operating with larger periods? How about make the RTC "wake" the module? Could decrease the 8min operation time? regards,

[@AndreasSpiess]

I do not want to use any RTC exept the ESP RTC. Then you avoid question #2. What do you mean with "Could decrease the 8min operation time?"

[@rodstartube]

lol i read ubidiots.com instead of ubidots.com when clicking. great content as always. i'll have those HT7333's in my mind to enhance some projects. thanks!

[@AndreasSpiess]

+rodstartube The first ;-)

[@behiyeerdemir]

Hi Andreas, thank you for the video. I examined the datasheet of ht7333. In the application circuit, there is a capacitor between Vout and ground. And we also have a capacitor as a decoupling capacitor. How should be the connection?

[@AndreasSpiess]

This is the same capacitor as I have here. Mine is just much bigger.

[@behiyeerdemir]

@@AndreasSpiess Oh, I get it. Thank you so much!

[@rakeshm3063]

Hi Andreas, Thank you for the video. I like the content that you post. I have query on the sleep time itself, what is the maximum time we can put 8266 to sleep, the maximum that am seeing is 72 minutes with micropython, have you used a different timer lets say for 8 hours or more? Thank you

[@AndreasSpiess]

The ESP8266 cannot do more. You have to handle the issue with EEPROM counter or RTC RAM

[@rakeshm3063]

@@AndreasSpiess Thank you, that was fast! Watching your other video now. Greatly appreciated

[@markus1963nl]

Hello from the Netherlands Andreas. Great video once again. You always come back with all sorts of nice nuggets. The tip about the ADC_MODE(ADC_VCC) and ESP.getVcc() methods was very helpful. How did you calculate the VCC_ADJ at 1.096? I also noticed that BATT_WARNING_VOLTAGE was set to 2.4V. I thought the working voltage levels for the ESP was 3.0 to 3.6v? Or can it go as low as 2.4v? Great stuff again and keep up the great videos. Mark

[@AndreasSpiess]

+Mark Troyer I just used the coding of Rainer without changing a lot. I added the two IOT services and left the rest. So, it is well possible that some of the coding is not yet optimal. It goes for sure below 3 volts, but I think, it depends on the individual chip on how much. The VCC_ADJ: I measured it with a voltmeter and looked what the ESP was measuring. Simple ;.)

[@Bubala09]

Thank you very much for the videos. Just a question: If I use a 18650 battery with the HT7333, the esp will be powered with 3.3V if the battery voltage is higher from 3.39V,right? In this case, the ESP.getVcc() method will always return the same value and it would not be possible to accquire the "real" battery state, right? As there is no regulation below 3.39V, the voltage will start decreasing further and then it would be possible to warn the user with a battery low message, for example at let's say 3V. Is this the way you are doing it? Great job on the videos. You are my guru already! Greetings from south Brazil!

[@AndreasSpiess]

In my opinion it makes more sense to connect teh ADC pin via a voltage divider directly to the battery. Like that, you always get the voltage of the battery, not only below 3.3 volt.

[@Bubala09]

Andreas Spiess Yes. That is a nice idea. I'll do that with some high value resistors, so not to create a high current path also. There is also the option of triggering on this resistor divider with some of the digital outputs of the ESP. Thanks for the reply.

[@arcadeuk]

Very informative and very well presented!

[@AndreasSpiess]

+arcadeuk Thank you for your nice comment!

[@blackout57]

I really love the swiss accent, it is the same when then speak french.

[@AndreasSpiess]

:-)

[@stanislavilchenko3368]

Nice video ! Thank you! What about to use external RTC and completely turn off power from ESP8266 ? In this case you can drain 80mA just for sending data and about 5uA left time. This means that from Li-ion battery with 100mAh such combination would work at least 150 days with 1 hour period of sending data.

[@AndreasSpiess]

+Stanislav Ilchenko I thought about that myself and came to the conclusion, that it is possible. But in my view this is more valuable if you sleep longer (e.g. one day) because the energy used in the active period is much bigger compared to the sleep energy for devices which send every minute or so. Its effect therefore is only small. If you sleep longer, you have to have a reliable RTC and also a way to set its time. This is rather complicated and in most of the cases probably uses more space and is more expensive than just use a bigger battery. There is, however, a mixed scenario where you use power hungry sensors which are read only once a day. I will cover that case in a future video.

[@colfaxschuyler3675]

This WAS interesting. Considering that it might be wasteful to use the connection just for a single piece of data, how much storage does the ESP have, how much power would wind up being used to run a data logging routine, and then upload a batch of data all at once? So, instead of creating a connection for a single piece of data every two minutes, you would log 30 pieces of data every hour (deep sleeping in between), and then squirt all 30 data samples to the internet all at once and return to the logging/sleeping cycle. I know that there are microSD shields available, but that creates a different question, "How much is too much?" with the balance being logging enough data to make a batch upload worthwhile while still having enough current left to do that size of a transfer, but not have so much data that you lose the timeliness of being able to communicate to the net, I guess. If you had enough storage and battery to hold days/weeks/months worth of data, you would lose the ability to monitor the results over time. Wouldn't that negate some of the benefit, making it closer to a one-shot data logger -- because you'd have to visit the device to change the batteries / pull the microSD at that point, because the batteries would be exhausted. Just thinking out loud on the last part.

[@AndreasSpiess]

Marc Visconte If you watch my video #60 you see how you can store some values in RTC memory and solve exactly the problem you described.

[@colfaxschuyler3675]

Then I'm off to that video! At great sacrifice to my normal sleep cycle, because the topic is of interest. It's OK... there will be time enough to sleep when I'm dead. ;-)

[@HorstChristophSchreiber]

danke schön!

[@AndreasSpiess]

Gern geschehen!

[@yuriikurschner1972]

Dear Andreas! Great video. Can you make short add-on about how to control power of attached sensors. If we go in deep sleep mode with ESP8266 and consume very low current - sensors still have connected to VCC and consume much more. (For those sensors which no have own sleep mode). As i understand it can be filed effect transistor connected to one of pins of ESP which will be control VCC of our sensors.

[@yuriikurschner1972]

One more thing about white board - center smd resistor is 000 Ohm and short back voltage regulator - so looks like you need remove it if you solder regulator on back side.

[@AndreasSpiess]

Юрий Кушнырев I plan an additional video about deep sleep. Maybe, I will include it there.

[@WilliHerda]

Hallo Andreas, danke für das Super-Video! Eine Frage, hat der Tantalkondensator 10.000µF (Video ca. bei 5:12) oder 1.000µF (108J)? 10.000µF habe ich als SMD nicht gefunden.

[@AndreasSpiess]

1000 ist richtig. Mein Fehler.

[@WilliHerda]

@@AndreasSpiess Vielen Dank für die schnelle Antwort!

[@allenhoung1615]

Awesome video Andreas! I have a question, the maximum voltage supplied by two AA batteries would effectively be 3.0V (the min voltage the ESP8266 requires), which means as the battery capacity/voltage starts dropping (I believe for a single battery, the voltage can be effective at 1.3V), does this mean you are not using the full capacity of the AA batteries? Any suggestions for utilizing more of the batteries' capacities if I were to go this route, perhaps a step-up regulator?

[@AndreasSpiess]

Please watch my video #64. If you still have questions, please come back.

[@dienhoat]

Thank you so much for your sharing. Your channel help me a lot while working with ESP. Just one question, I know that the regulator of ESP is optional for your White Adapter, and in case of you want to use regulator you need to desolder the short-circuit 0 ohm resistor in the middle, if not your input-voltage connect directly to 3:3V. But you didn't do it there, so I don't know how your ESP can still working ?

[@AndreasSpiess]

There are several versions of this PCB sold

[@niniliumify]

Talk about "Power Napping"! ~excellent presentation~

[@AndreasSpiess]

Thanks!

[@BilalInamdar]

Great info dude i m a fan now.... Small detail for Noobs is best. i like IOT but don't have time to read but your video teaches good.

[@AndreasSpiess]

+Bilal Inamdar Good to hear. Then it is worth my work!

[@warperone]

Hi Andreas - I've always wanted to know how to develop a circuit and s/w that allows me to check voltage of my batteries and warn me if I need to change batteries. Have you ever done such a video tutorial ? if not would it be an interesting one to do ?

[@AndreasSpiess]

I have never done one for the ESP series. I did it at the beginning of this channel using Arduinos. It should not be too complicated.

[@helikrysly]

Hallo Andreas, erstmal Danke für deine super lehrreichen und sympatischen Videos hier. Ich bin aktuell auf der Suche nach einem Fenster Sensor welcher mit einem ESP8266 (Deepsleep) und MQTT umgesetzt wurde. Man findet hierzu sehr viel, auch gute Sketches, allerdings irgendwie nicht ganz in Kombination das was ich suche. Ich hätte gerne einen Fenster Sensor welcher sowohl den Status Offen, als auch den Status Closed über ein Magnet Reed Kontakt an einen MQTT Broker versendet. Das ganze mit Deep Sleep und gerne mit einer AA Zelle. Du hast nicht zufällig sowas schon umgesetzt und ein Sketch bzw. einen Schaltplan mit Komponenten dafür parat dafür parat ? Ganz liebe Grüße Christian

[@AndreasSpiess]

Ich habe vor Kurzem in einem Video ein Trigboard von Kevin Darrah verwendet. Er hat das gemacht um Fenstersensoren anzuschliessen. Du kannst dir ja mal das video anschauen und wenn du willst, auch seines. Der Link ist in der Beschreibung.

[@anslan]

Thx rus subtitles. Ставлю лайк за русские субтитры, к сожалению в других Ваших видео они не работают. С удовольствием просмотрел бы и другие видео.

[@AndreasSpiess]

Все субтитры были предоставлены лояльными зрителями. Для их создания много работы.

[@CristianSzwarc]

great info!, regarding email... I'm using pushover to receive messages directly to my phone from some projects. it is a paid app but totally worth it (is "free" to send notifications up to a limit and you need to buy the client app), keep posting

[@WUTUcz]

Try to look at Pushbullet. Its free.

[@TheUnofficialMaker]

me too. and very fast I have found.

[@kosatomi]

Hi Andreas, can you please give some teachings about the red battery characterizing box (can be seen at time 1:51)? Much appreciated.

[@AndreasSpiess]

This was an old electronic load. You get much better ones now.

[@amosdevries7600]

Looks like there a multiple versions of the ht7333 i discovered that the datasheets are different. Also in your video you are showing the data sheet of another version than the chip itself. Look for ht7333-1 and ht7333-a. Love your video's btw!

[@AndreasSpiess]

I was not aware of the versions. I a later video I tested my HT7333 and their quiescent current was ok. But I saw also two different data sheets. So, thanks for the tip!

[@amosdevries7600]

Your welcome!

[@aspzx]

Hi Andreas, would you still recommend a 1000uF capacitor on the power line? All the datasheets that I can find for these capacitors show a leakage current of at least 40uA which would seem to negate the advantage of using the efficient HT7333. Perhaps a 300 or 100uF power line capacitor would be sufficient? It would be great if you could do a video about this.

[@aspzx]

Of course, as I asked this question, I found you already did a video #91 on LDOs and capacitors. Thank you so much!

[@XerotoLabs]

great info as ever . very clear and easy to fallow .

[@AndreasSpiess]

+XerotoLabs You are one of my "closest" subscribers. Thanks a lot.

[@XerotoLabs]

+Andreas Spiess you have a great way of explaining stuff and your videos always provide new things for me to think about . now i have a use for all those old Lion and Nimh cordless phone batteries ( N size cells) I have and one si can get form clearance outlets for cheap. I used to use them for ODL R/C stuff before lipo's became a thing . I wonde rhow long and how small a pack you could make using the inner aaaa cells in a '9'v nimh battery ( 7.2v IIRC , some were 8.2 or 9.6v ) . i used to take them apart t get the tiny cells to make my R/C glider's radio packs. those cells were sometimes small squares with tabs , about the size of your big capacitor in your video . some have oblong button cells stacked in them .

[@AndreasSpiess]

+XerotoLabs I just learned from a viewer that LiPoFe4 batteries with a nominal voltage of 3.2 volts exist. These would be ideal for this purpose because their max voltage is 3.6 volt. So, I ordered some and will try. 9V batteries are a bit of an overkill because the regulator has to "kill" the extra volts. I wonder how much current it would use in deep sleep...

[@stfm]

Really impressive. Thanks for this Video. Very interesting.

[@AndreasSpiess]

You're welcome!

[@eugy2008]

LIR2450 are interesting batteries. They are li-on and can really charge in -20C? I guess it's because the current is very small per battery. What if we put them in a parallel pack and increase charging current? I cant seem to find a factory made pack as a pack would need to have balanced batteries in it.

[@AndreasSpiess]

Li-Ion batteries should not be charged much below 0 degrees centigrade. This is also true for the LIR2450.

[@eugy2008]

@@AndreasSpiess Yes but the data sheet in the video says charging at -20C, so I found it interesting.

[@3vi14n931]

Andreas, I had never seen a linear reg with such low Quiescent Current before and I am thinking about using it in a battery project. However linear regulators need a Vin of at least Vo + Vdo. so if you are using the 3.3vdc version you need to at least supply it with 3.39vdc(latest datasheet states a 90mV Vdo). Are you boosting the battery voltage somehow? If not wouldn't a boost converter use the battery more efficiently?

[@AndreasSpiess]

You can watch my vodeo #64. There, I talk about these questions.

[@3vi14n931]

Thanks, I'll check it out!

[@envt]

Hello, I tested your setup (using some php scripts and mysql db) and it works perfectly! Great video! Do you know how I could still use the analog IN in combination with the voltage reading? I need to connect a soil sensor. By the way my ESP stopped sending data at 2.24volt (using 18650).

[@AndreasSpiess]

+Ejal Nvt Good to hear that it worked. No, there is only one ADC and you can either use it to measure voltage or something else. I ordered some cheap mcp3021 10 bit ADCs for this purpose. A library for the ESP exists also. Or you go for a 16 bit ADS1116 which has many analog inputs. I do not know anymore the stopping voltage of my ESP, but I think, it was in the same range. The setup with 2 AAA batteries and 2 minute intervall works now since nearly 20 days...

[@envt]

+Andreas Spiess I got two CD4051BE chips. Haven't played with them before but I hope they can do the job too.

[@AndreasSpiess]

+Ejal Nvt That is another possibility which could work. I would then not use the possibility I used (with an internal connection to VCC) because to use this, you have to leave the ADC pin open. With your concept, you will connect the output of the 4051 to the ADC. So, I propose to connect VCC to one of the input pins of the 4051 instead.

[@underwaterjunkie]

Hi Andreas, can you do a review of the MAX1703 chip, it seem to be a better way to monitor the battery life of portable IOT device.

[@AndreasSpiess]

This is a very specialized SMD boost converter chip. So, I doubt, that it will be very interesting for many people.

[@sramilli]

Hi, i watched almost all your videos yesterday. They are great, full of precious information! Thank you for doing them :) I would like to ask a more general question. What do you think is the most efficient way (less heat - and not too expensive components) to step down 12V to 5V and 3.3V for Arduinos and ESP8266 to be used in the same project? Thank you!

[@MrRoboto2338]

Do you have another video on the coding? You mentioned you would go over it in a later video. Specifically, I was looking on placement of the ubidots inside the ESPSensorHourly.ino

[@AndreasSpiess]

There are a few other videos about similar topics in my ESP8266 playlist. What is the specific question you want to be answered.

[@MrRoboto2338]

I am new to coding and unfamiliar with the bool code in ubidots sketch. should that be placed in the esphourly sketch and if so where?

[@AndreasSpiess]

Just use my code on github (see link in the comments). Ther, you see where to place it

[@dallatorretdu]

I was looking for something like the ST1L08 or the LDFM voltage regulator, but it's quite hard to find. I really liked the option to shut it down digitally...

[@AndreasSpiess]

I think, you find also other LDOs with that property, I just do not remember, which one

[@matteogiovo7605]

great video, now ht7333 increased battery life of my iot weather station, replacing the step up module + lm117 wich I used before. now the power consumption on deep sleep is very low, near to 0. can i ask you how you usually charge the button cell batteries showed in the video? The cheap modules are ok for this purpose? thanks

[@AndreasSpiess]

With my bench power supply set on 4.2V and current limited at around 100mA

[@ToastersScareMe]

almost a year late... but great video, thanks so much i learned a bit, time to start researching everything deeper

[@AndreasSpiess]

Thanks! There are a few other videos from me concerning this topic. You find them in a playlist

[@yengamatic]

Why did you use SMD tantalum caps? Can't you use other kind of caps? Will other size do? The datasheet for HT7333 says to place a 10uF cap before and after the regulator, did you use that too?

[@AndreasSpiess]

The current spikes are quite fast and high. So, you need a bigger capacitor for this purpose if you have only a weak battery/LDO. I think, tantalums are good for that purpose.