Getting Started with VBatPower

Overview

VBatPower is an electronics power simulation tool that helps you estimate battery life for embedded systems. You define your battery characteristics, add components with their power states, and VBatPower computes how long your system will run.

The app works entirely in your browser with localStorage. Sign in to sync projects to the cloud and access them from any device.

1. Create a Project

Open app.vbatpower.com and click New Project. Give it a name like "Sensor Node v2".

Each project contains one or more batteries and their associated components. The project page shows a system analysis with total power consumption and estimated battery life.

2. Add a Battery

Click Add Battery to create a battery entry. Configure:

  • Name — e.g. "CR2032", "18650 cell"
  • Voltage Min — cutoff voltage (e.g. 2.0V for a CR2032)
  • Voltage Max — fully charged voltage (e.g. 3.0V)
  • Rating — capacity in mAh (e.g. 225 for CR2032)

Each battery has a packed ID like 0 for the first battery, 1 for the second.

3. Add Components

Under each battery, click Add Component. Each component represents a physical part drawing power from that battery — a microcontroller, sensor, radio, LED, etc.

Component IDs use dot notation: 0.0 is the first component of the first battery, 0.1 is the second component.

4. Configure Power States

Each component has one or more states representing different operating modes. For example, an ESP32 might have:

  • Deep Sleep — 10 µA, always on
  • Active — 80 mA, periodic (every 60 seconds for 5 seconds)
  • WiFi TX — 240 mA, periodic (every 300 seconds for 2 seconds)
  • Boot — 40 mA, run once (happens only at startup)

State types:

  • Always On — continuous draw
  • Periodic — runs N times per [second/minute/hour/day], each for a set duration
  • Run Once — one-time energy cost subtracted from battery capacity
  • Measured — use measured current data instead of theoretical values

State IDs extend the dot notation: 0.0.0 is the first state of the first component of the first battery.

5. Import Telemetry Data

If you have real measurement data from a microcontroller, import it via CSV on the Data page. The CSV format uses six columns:

id,type,value,unit,nonce,runid
0.0.0,t,1523,ms,1,1
0.0.0,v,3.28,V,1,1
0.0.0,n,12.5,mA,1,1

See the CSV Format docs for full details.

6. View Results

The project page shows three analysis panels:

  • System Analysis — computed from your component states (theoretical)
  • Recorded Data — computed from imported telemetry measurements
  • Predicted — blended analysis combining theoretical model with real data

Navigate to the Graphs page to visualize simulated power consumption, measured data timelines, and battery discharge predictions.

Next Steps