@Backpacker87 reported ~ 5MB/month for a Boron waking every 5 minutes using the EN pin & external timer.
It appears NOT connecting the the Particle Cloud helped significantly with data usage, per the thread below.
This is good news, as I wasn't able to measure Data usage for Trial #2 during my battery tests last year when the Console had hiccups with Boron Cellular Data reporting.
Since the Data usage question seems to be answered now, here's some more examples for a project that requires primary batteries:
A power budget for my location would be calculated using any publish schedule (1 mWh each publish) and the Quiescent current of 7.5 mWh per day.
The L91 is rated at 4,500 mWh for a 100 mA constant load (for the time spent connecting & publishing).
From looking at various discharge profiles, it's safe to assume in excess of 5,500 mWh for the 76 µA shutdown current (just as a point of reference).
If you left the Boron LTE in standby mode, and never pulled the EN Pin high except for an Alarm/Emergency Condition, 3xAA batteries would last 2 years waiting until it's needed (7.5 mWh per day to reach 5,500 mWh rating for shutdown current).
But most of us will want to send data at some scheduled interval for most projects.
For a 2-hour Schedule over 1 Year:
- Operating: 1 mWh per Event * 12 Publish Events per day * 365 days = 4,400 mWh
- Shutdown: 7.5 mWh per day * 365 days = 2,700 mWh
Total = 4,400 + 2,700 = 7,100 mWh.
7,100 mWh requires 6xAA in a 3 Series, 2 parallel configuration. (2) sets of 3xAA.
That leaves you 30% additional capacity for a safety factor, or an increased update rate.
For 3xAA only @ 1 hour Shedule:
Works out to be ~ 5 months before the 3xAA L91 batteries need replacing.
- Operating: 150 days * 24 publish Events * 1 mWh each = 3,600 mWh
- Shutdown: 7.5 mWh per day * 150 days = 1,125 mWh
Total = 3,600 + 1,125 = 4,725 mWh.
4.20V would be the Battery Alarm Threshold for 3xAA, to start sending a notification that 3 new batteries are required.
Note: The 1 mWh per Startup/Publish Event will likely be reduced if not Connecting to the Particle Cloud each cycle, by pushing data directly to your backend service (as @Backpacker87 did with Ubidots to minimize Cellular Data on each Event).
A comparison to the initial Sleep Mode in 0.9.0:
System.Sleep uses 700 - 800 µA Sleeping Current, or 10x that of Shutdown via the EN Pin.
But System.Sleep will continue to improve.
IMHO, for Projects with Solar or other recharging methods, Sleep Mode is the clear winner.
For power sensitive battery projects, the external timer wins.