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  • Mobile Tower Power Consumption

    Kaustubh Katdare

    Administrator

    Updated: Oct 27, 2024
    Views: 1.0K
    I read somewhere that mobile towers consume 3-5 kw power depending upon the number of operators using them.

    Also, these towers consume over 530 million gallons of diesel every year (in India). I'm thinking maybe a better idea would be to power these towers with solar energy. How feasible do you think the idea is and how can it be implemented?
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Replies

  • ChenPa

    Member • Mar 30, 2010

    I think first we have to know how much power we can generate using solar panel.
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  • durga ch

    Member • Mar 30, 2010

    You are talking about mobile base stations is it?
    Firstly,there is no mandatory rule that the base stations need to consume high power to cover higher area, it rather is disadvantageous to have high power transmitters - they interfere with other signals. The power consumed can as well be reduced if the size of the area the BS is serving is reduced. The power can also be reduced by using better antennas.
    How much power can be generated by solar panels? we should not forget there is a need to maintain the same levels during night hours as well, thus bringing in a high need for storage?
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  • Ashraf HZ

    Member • Mar 30, 2010

    It is feasible! I posted about something like this back in 2008, including an interesting whitepaper: #-Link-Snipped-#

    Its worth some serious discussions. Cell sizes of base transceiver stations would probably need to be optimized to match with the solar/renewable power generation.
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  • durga ch

    Member • Mar 30, 2010

    Thats a nice post Ash! will take out sometime to read the PDF 😀
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  • Kaustubh Katdare

    Administrator • Mar 30, 2010

    There has to be some way to power everything through green energy. The discussion here could help some final year project come up with a workable solution.
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  • GP17

    Member • Mar 31, 2010

    Interesting idea..
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  • lal

    Member • Mar 31, 2010

    But all through the year will it be possible to use solar power? Because the availability of solar energy varies according to different seasons.
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  • Saandeep Sreerambatla

    Member • Mar 31, 2010

    To answer lal , currently the solar panels in India which are used for few lightning require as low as 21[sup]o[/sup]C , thus we can happily expect the temperature to be above that except very few days!
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  • lal

    Member • Apr 1, 2010

    I dont agree to that completely ES. Because here in our state, Kerala, you cant expect that. In the long rainy season from June to September end or even till October you cant expect to see sun in enough glow to produce fair amount of energy. So for half the year you might need other energy sources sources.

    I think so.
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  • aj_onduty

    Member • Aug 26, 2010

    Solar energy is a good option, but not the best.
    Why do we have to use solar energy when we have disadvantages like bad weather conditions and inability to generate at night?
    In cities, there is a good amount of wastes, most being bio-degradable. A city can give you power in megawatts if you can use the sewage water and the wastes. Why can't we think in that way? Why obstruct sunlight from falling on land? We can clear some land under the dumping grounds our our own good, else use up some more land. What do you have to say? Kindly let me know.
    Thank you.
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  • shreyasm89

    Member • Aug 31, 2010

    One more idea is that if we could install turbine blades on the towers....that way the problem of variable weather will be solved.Ofcourse the weight and the cost considerations need to be looked into.
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  • Ashraf HZ

    Member • Sep 1, 2010

    aj_onduty
    Solar energy is a good option, but not the best.
    Why do we have to use solar energy when we have disadvantages like bad weather conditions and inability to generate at night?
    In cities, there is a good amount of wastes, most being bio-degradable. A city can give you power in megawatts if you can use the sewage water and the wastes. Why can't we think in that way? Why obstruct sunlight from falling on land? We can clear some land under the dumping grounds our our own good, else use up some more land. What do you have to say? Kindly let me know.
    Thank you.
    I would think solar energy (or even shreyasm's wind turbine idea) is more practical just because it can be off the grid. Its good that we are thinking of alternatives like bio energy, but in situations where mobile towers are in isolated locations, its wise to chose a solution that can self-sustain the towers. It would be more environmentally friendly too, since you don't need dig around to run electrical cables all over the place to connect these towers 😀

    Aiming to reduce the power consumption of the towers, as well as increase the efficiency of the antennas, should allow us to easily utilize renewable energy in what ever environment (low light, etc).
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  • aj_onduty

    Member • Sep 1, 2010

    I respect your answer and also I feel your answer to be practical. But from my observation, what I found out is that there are two things in a city which we can see in every nook and corner, the mobile towers and the waste dumping grounds. Why can't we make good use of them. It would be impractical to use biomass in remote areas(i.e., if there isn't enough source), but we can surely use that in cities. Am I right, or does my answers need corrections?
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  • Ashraf HZ

    Member • Sep 1, 2010

    Sure, perhaps you can start a new thread about this! If the focus is on biomass energy, the potential is a lot more than just powering mobile towers in the city, but other densely packed utilities like traffic lights or street lights too 😀 If the power output is high enough, it can easily be part of the city grid and ease the load on more polluting sources like coal, etc.
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  • aj_onduty

    Member • Sep 1, 2010

    And also we can earn carbon credit for using green energy. Yes, its a vast subject, and I will open a thread for this. thank you for your suggestion.
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