Power Consumption Minimization in Grid Tower Tilt Monitoring System

The escalating prevalence of the Internet of Things (IoT) enables advanced intelligent monitoring technologies critical for grid infrastructure in typhoon-prone regions to effectively surveil vast territories. However, existing grid tower monitoring systems are often tailored for either low-power operation or wide-area coverage, but rarely designed to meet both needs effectively. This paper delineates the development of an innovative, cost-efficient grid tower monitoring system leveraging a LoRa-Mesh protocol. This system extends its surveillance perimeter through multi-hop forwarding, capitalizing on the Long Range (LoRa) communication technology. To reconcile the exigencies of energy efficiency, our approach incorporates a strategy for dynamic power management, coupled with the deployment of an asynchronous sleep-and-wakeup state machine model, circumventing prevailing power constraints. An empirical assessment of the LoRa-Mesh network within a campus environment substantiated its extended operational lifespan, capable of enduring multiple years and thousands of duty cycles, powered by a simple pair of 1A batteries. Experimental outcomes advocate that the proposed grid tower tilt monitoring system is proficient in enveloping extensive areas whilst maintaining minimal energy consumption.