Research Article Solar Energy Harvesting and Management in Wireless Sensor Networks Muhammad Mazhar Abbas, 1 Mohamed A. Tawhid, 2,3 Khalid Saleem, 4 Zia Muhammad, 1 Nazar Abbas Saqib, 5 Hafiz Malik, 6 and Hasan Mahmood 1 1 Department of Electronics, Quaid-i-Azam University, 45320 Islamabad, Pakistan 2 Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Faculty of Science, hompson Rivers University, 900 McGill Road, Kamloops, BC, Canada V2C 0C8 3 Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Faculty of Science, Alexandria University, Moharram Bey, Alexandria 21511, Egypt 4 Department of Computer Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, 45320 Islamabad, Pakistan 5 College of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Islamabad, Pakistan 6 Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, University of Michigan-Dearborn, Dearborn, MI 48128, USA Correspondence should be addressed to Hasan Mahmood; hasan@qau.edu.pk Received 19 October 2013; Accepted 24 February 2014; Published 20 July 2014 Academic Editor: Chih-Yung Chang Copyright © 2014 Muhammad Mazhar Abbas et al. his is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Wireless networks comprise of small devices that are typically deployed in environments where paucity of energy seriously restricts essential operations. he energy source of these devices decreases very quickly during continuous operation and it is pivotal to replace or recharge frequently the power sources. Sometimes, it is very diicult to perform these functions through conventional methods. One attractive solution to this problem is the use of the energy, scattered around us in the environment. he availability of energy from the environment is random and uncertain. In this paper, we present a model, schematically and analytically, for solar energy harvesting with appropriate energy management. We provide analysis and simulations for a solar cell for standard and diferent irradiance levels. he power of the storage device is also simulated for diferent times of the day. he proposed model not only scavenges the energy but also assures the connectivity of the network by optimizing the energy consumption. 1. Introduction Although wireless networking is not a new ield, in the recent era, it has gained a considerable amount of attention. Cellular networks and ad hoc networks are the key constituents of the modern wireless networks. Devices in the cellular networks are controlled by the ixed base stations, whereas, in ad hoc networks, the nodes are individually responsible for establishing communication links. Each node in ad hoc network functions not only as a host but also as a router. he devices in both types of networks are small and usually battery powered [1]. he battery has a limited capacity and, therefore, must be replenished periodically or has to be replaced frequently. During operational time or in the time of any emergency, it seems to be diicult to perform these tasks. Sometimes, the network is in a diicult to reach area and it is not possible to replace or recharge the battery. One of the possible solutions to this problem is to use the energy present in the surrounding environment. Energy harvesting is the process of accumulating and utilizing the energy such as solar [2], mechanical [3], and/or thermal energy [4] present in the surroundings of the device. All the nodes of the network are well equipped with energy harvesting devices that can extract or scavenge energy from the environmental energy sources. he harvested energy can be used as a supplement to the primary power source of the device or even sometimes directly as a primary source. A basic framework for energy harvesting is presented in [5], which emphasizes on learning the environment. Although the energy harvesting is not so common in cellular and ad hoc networks, it is widely Hindawi Publishing Corporation International Journal of Distributed Sensor Networks Volume 2014, Article ID 436107, 8 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/436107