Analysis of effective energy consumption of Bluetooth Low Energy versus Bluetooth Classic

Abstract: Wireless technology is used daily across the globe. A very common wireless technology is Bluetooth. The Bluetooth technology exists everywhere, from cars to mobile phones and even kitchen appliances. Recently, Bluetooth Low Energy has added support for another physical layer, LE 2M PHY. This physical layer is supposed to be faster and more energy efficient than its predecessor, LE 1M PHY, with a decrease in range. Because of this new physical layer, Bluetooth Low Energy can now compete with Bluetooth Classic during data transmission, in both speed and energy efficiency. This thesis aims to find the breaking point where Bluetooth Low Energy becomes less energy efficient than Bluetooth Classic, in relation to bit rate speed and total amount of bytes sent. Before experiments were conducted, multiple iterations of an artifact had to be done to end up with an artifact that provides valid and reliable data. The experiments were then conducted by changing the bit rate speed and sending different amounts of bytes. The results from the experiments show that Bluetooth Classic is practically both faster and more energy efficient with its fastest modulation than Bluetooth Low Energy is with LE 2M PHY enabled, even though this should not be the case theoretically. Bluetooth Classic is overall more energy efficient than Bluetooth Low Energy and thus the conclusion of this study is that no breaking points between the two technologies exist.