The battery life of the TCM and MAT-1 data logger depends on a range of factors of which the two most important are:
- Recording Intervals: The higher the logging frequency the shorter the battery life.
- Sensor Selection: Disabling sensors will extend battery life.
The following examples are based upon typical configurations with estimated battery life.
| Configuration | Temperature (minute) | Burst Interval (minute) | Burst Rate (Hz) | Burst Duration (seconds) | Start Time | Stop Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Typical | 1 | 1 | 8 | 20 | On Next Minute | Until Stopped | Suitable for most environments, high temporal resolution with moderate filtering. 12 to 14 month typical battery life |
| Swells | 2 | 2 | 8 | 45 | On Next Minute | Until Stopped | Recommended for locations with swells with a period of up to 10 seconds. 10 to 12 month typical battery life |
| Energetic / Turbulence | 1 | 1 | 16 | 30 | On Next Hour | Until Stopped | Recommended for areas near surf zones or other very turbulent locations. 5 to 6 month typical battery life. Increase burst duration to 30 seconds. |
| Continuous Recording | 1 second | 1 second | 16 | 1 | Immediately | Until Stopped | Data logging at 16Hz continuously. 3 month typical battery life |
| Burst Recording | 5 | 5 | 16 | 60 | On Next Quarter Hour | Until Stopped | Data logging at 16 Hz, 1 minute seconds ON, 4 minutes OFF. 12 month typical battery life. |
Estimated Battery Life (Months) Under Various Scenarios for Continuous Use.
| Recording Frequency | Enabled Sensors | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Magnetometer AND | Magnetometer | Magnetometer OR Accelerometer | Temperature Only | |
| Accelerometer AND | AND Accelerometer | |||
| Temperature | ||||
| 64 Hz | 1.5 | 1.6 | 2.4 | NA |
| 32 Hz | 2.3 | 2.6 | 4.2 | NA |
| 16 Hz | 3.6 | 4.5 | 7.1 | NA |
| 8 Hz | 5.3 | 7.3 | 11 | NA |
| 4 Hz | 7 | 11 | 14 | NA |
| 2 Hz | 8.3 | 14 | 17 | NA |
| 1 Hz | 9 | 17 | 19 | 19 |
| 0.5 Hz | 23 | 36 | 36 | 36 |
| 0.2 Hz | 36 | 36 | 36 | 36 |
Other factors that impact battery life are:
- Speed and power consumption of the microSD card: There is a considerable amount of variability in the energy consumed by various cards and it is not obvious which cards will be best. For example, faster and more expensive cards are not always better. Check with Lowell Instruments if you plan on using an alternate card for a critical deployment.
- Storage & operating temperature: High temperatures will increase the self-discharge rate of the battery. Keep the logger below 25 ⁰C when not in use. Cold temperatures, -10 ⁰C and below, will reduce run time significantly.
- Enabling the LED: The LED blinks with each temperature measurement. Turning off the LED will extend deployments that have the temperature channel enabled by 5 to 10%.
Duty Cycle: By using the Burst Interval, the duty cycle of the logger can be reduced. This will extend the battery life nearly proportionally to the duty cycle.