nRF Mesh power consumption

[L.B.]

Hello guys,

I want to work with NRF Mesh but I need help with answering some general questions:

1. Is the current version of the SDK ("nrf5_SDK_for_Mesh_v5.0.0_src") power efficient as the regular SDK ("nRF5_SDK_17.0.2_d674dde") - we are talking about tens of micro amperes mean current consumption?

2. I've run the light_switch server example and I measure 12.5 mA. I've turned off the LOG and the UARTs. Still can't get it to work with micro amperes. Does it need some special adjustments of the project to make it low power?

3. I read in the Nordic forums something about "friend node". Do you think that "friend nodeing" will help me reduce the power?

Thank you in advance,

L. B.

[Elfving]

Hey Lubomir!

1. I would say that the Mesh SDK is as power efficient as nrf5 SDK, but Mesh in general isn't. Relay and heavy radio use is the backbone of it, which means it generally won't be low power. I would say that for mesh to pay off, you would need at least one of the nodes to be connected to the power grid itself. 

2 & 3. Yes, what you can do is to use low power nodes and friend nodes. The low power nodes won't be using the radio as much, and can even be turned off for a period of time, which allows them to have a low power consumption. There are several important messages going through the Mesh network however (network keys, IVI update, etc), that the LPN would need. The friend node can store these in the meantime, and provide them to the it has a friendship with when the LPN requests them.

For more info, see here.

Best regards,

Elfving