# Question about solar power the sensor and 4G/LTE communication
**URL:** https://forum.sensor.community/t/question-about-solar-power-the-sensor-and-4g-lte-communication/1773
**Category:** FAQ
**Created:** [December 28, 2022, 5:51pm UTC](https://forum.sensor.community/t/question-about-solar-power-the-sensor-and-4g-lte-communication/1773 "2022-12-28T17:51:50Z")
**Posts on this page:** 10
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Frens](https://forum.sensor.community/u/Frens)
#### Post date: [December 28, 2022, 5:51pm UTC](https://forum.sensor.community/t/question-about-solar-power-the-sensor-and-4g-lte-communication/1773/1 "2022-12-28T17:51:50Z")
Hello forum members.
I am new here and love what you all are accomplishing.
I have electrical / electronics background and in my spare time I am working on a food forest .
Now I want to put 2 air quality and sound sensors in this forest.
Does anyone have experience with solarpower and 4G/LTE communication for these sensors.
What is the power consumption of these sensors ?
Thanks for your support
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### Author:  [@pjg](https://forum.sensor.community/u/pjg)
#### Post date: [December 29, 2022, 6:04am UTC](https://forum.sensor.community/t/question-about-solar-power-the-sensor-and-4g-lte-communication/1773/2 "2022-12-29T06:04:41Z")
> **[Solar powered NodeMCU & SDS011 dust sensor](https://gvidinski.wordpress.com/2021/05/10/solar-powered-nodemcu-sds011-dust-sensor/)**
>
> Solar powered NodeMCU & SDS011 dust sensor
There should also be a v2. Try to contact Grigori.
4G/LTE small routers often prevent users to do what they want. Can’t you use LoRaWAN?
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### Author:  [@Frens](https://forum.sensor.community/u/Frens)
#### Post date: [December 29, 2022, 7:03am UTC](https://forum.sensor.community/t/question-about-solar-power-the-sensor-and-4g-lte-communication/1773/3 "2022-12-29T07:03:00Z")
Thanks for your reply pjg
I try to contact Grigori.
And I will look into a LoRaWAN solution or NB-IoT
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### Author:  [@ibetsun](https://forum.sensor.community/u/ibetsun)
#### Post date: [December 30, 2022, 6:34pm UTC](https://forum.sensor.community/t/question-about-solar-power-the-sensor-and-4g-lte-communication/1773/4 "2022-12-30T18:34:26Z")
I tested ESP8266 and ESP32 boards with Simcom Sim7020/7080G NB-IOT modems. Worked well with solar panel and 18650 battery
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### Author:  [@Frens](https://forum.sensor.community/u/Frens)
#### Post date: [December 30, 2022, 7:36pm UTC](https://forum.sensor.community/t/question-about-solar-power-the-sensor-and-4g-lte-communication/1773/5 "2022-12-30T19:36:12Z")
Thanks for your reply and info ibetsun.
Did you use a Sitcom NB IoT development board or did you made your own PCB with ESP and Simcom ?
do you have a schematic of your solution ?
Thanks.
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### Author:  [@ibetsun](https://forum.sensor.community/u/ibetsun)
#### Post date: [December 31, 2022, 7:23am UTC](https://forum.sensor.community/t/question-about-solar-power-the-sensor-and-4g-lte-communication/1773/6 "2022-12-31T07:23:34Z")
I testd with Simcom devboard from AliExpress which there are plenty of. I am planning to develop a daughter board with Simcom module
The schematic is not ready yet. I suppose there will be some power management and a level shifter 1.8\<\>3.3V
As to the solar part, you can find some info there:
> **[GitHub - AirMQ/AirMQ-sensor: Root repository for AirMQ hardware project](https://github.com/AirMQ/AirMQ-sensor)**
>
> Root repository for AirMQ hardware project
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### Author:  [@air-ais](https://forum.sensor.community/u/air-ais)
#### Post date: [December 31, 2022, 9:04pm UTC](https://forum.sensor.community/t/question-about-solar-power-the-sensor-and-4g-lte-communication/1773/7 "2022-12-31T21:04:04Z")
Did you also compare power conscumption between the two?
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### Author:  [@ibetsun](https://forum.sensor.community/u/ibetsun)
#### Post date: [January 1, 2023, 5:42pm UTC](https://forum.sensor.community/t/question-about-solar-power-the-sensor-and-4g-lte-communication/1773/8 "2023-01-01T17:42:43Z")
You mean between 7020 and 7080? Not yet. I have them both as modules, and when the PCBs are ready, I will test the overall efficiency.
But, according to datasheets, there’ should not be much difference in power save mode
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### Author:  [@air-ais](https://forum.sensor.community/u/air-ais)
#### Post date: [January 1, 2023, 11:03pm UTC](https://forum.sensor.community/t/question-about-solar-power-the-sensor-and-4g-lte-communication/1773/9 "2023-01-01T23:03:33Z")
I see, thank you. The ESP32 should also consume less in power saving mode.
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### Author:  [@markpousee](https://forum.sensor.community/u/markpousee)
#### Post date: [August 19, 2025, 8:19am UTC](https://forum.sensor.community/t/question-about-solar-power-the-sensor-and-4g-lte-communication/1773/10 "2025-08-19T08:19:51Z")
For powering air quality and sound sensors with 4G/LTE in a food forest, a small solar setup works well: most sensors use under 0[.](https://powerhouseexpress.com.pk/collections/solar-panels)5 W, while a 4G modem averages 1–2 W (peaking higher during transmission). A 20–30 W solar panel with a 12V 7Ah battery and a compact charge controller is usually enough for continuous operation. To save power, configure the modem to transmit data at intervals (e.g., every 5–10 minutes) instead of streaming constantly, ensuring reliable performance even on cloudy days.