ESP32 with a power supply of 5v 150mA MAX

[pjpeartree]

Hi all,

I have to install an ESP32 to transfer data over WiFi in the place where I only have available 5v with a maximum of 150mA.

From my limited knowledge about ESP32, I know from the datasheet that Wifi power consumption can consume 240mA or more on transmissions, but in between transmissions, maybe in Modem-sleep/deep-sleep, it has a very low consumption.

Can you share any ideas or setup, how can:
Store power for transmission spikes. Supercapacitor? A battery that is charged in between transmissions?
How can protect the power source to do not exceed the 150ma?

Regards,
Pedro

[ESP_Sprite]

The average current consumption is not that high on average, it kind-of depends what you do, but the ESP32s power usage is somewhat spikey; it certainly needs 3.3V@500mA during e.g. WiFi startup. You may be able to get away with a supercap on the 5V line and a buck converter to convert that back to 3.3V, combined with a circuit that keeps the ESP32 in reset until the supercap is fully charged. There's not much that can be said about the size of those components, though, as it all depends on the power usage, which depends on your program, your AP as well as the Tx power.