How do I install the Low Power Design skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add uitbreidenos/low-power-design in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

Is Low Power Design safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. Capability flags: docs only. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Low Power Design?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Low Power Design free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

Who published Low Power Design?

UitbreidenOS (@uitbreidenos) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Low Power Design by uitbreidenos — Agent Skill

Name: Low Power Design
Rating: 4.2 (5 reviews)
Author: UitbreidenOS

File contents

When to activate

Optimizing battery life for embedded devices
Designing sleep/wake strategies
Profiling power consumption with current meters
Estimating battery life from power budgets
Implementing dynamic voltage and frequency scaling

When NOT to use

For mains-powered devices
For high-performance computing (power is secondary)
For battery charger circuit design

Instructions

Power budget. Measure each component: MCU active, MCU sleep, radio TX/RX, sensors, LEDs. Create power budget spreadsheet.
Sleep modes. Stop (CPU halt, RAM retained), Standby (most clocks off), Shutdown (only RTC + backup RAM). Wake sources: GPIO, RTC, UART.
Duty cycling. Active for X ms, sleep for Y ms. Duty cycle = X/(X+Y). Lower duty cycle = longer battery life.
Peripheral management. Disable unused peripherals. Clock gating. Power down sensors between reads. Radio off between transmissions.
Software optimization. Minimize active time. Batch sensor reads. Process locally before transmitting. Use DMA for transfers.
Battery estimation. Battery capacity (mAh) / Average current (mA) = Hours. Account for self-discharge, temperature, load profile.
Profiling. Current meter (Nordic PPK2, Otii). Log at high sample rate. Identify unexpected wake sources and idle current.

Example

Power Budget: Environmental Sensor (CR2032, 225mAh)

Mode          | Duration | Current  | Energy/cycle
--------------|----------|----------|-------------
Sleep         | 295s     | 2.5 µA   | 0.206 µAh
Wake + Sense  | 50ms     | 3.2 mA   | 0.044 µAh
BLE TX        | 5ms      | 12 mA    | 0.017 µAh
Total/cycle   | 300s     |          | 0.267 µAh

Average current: 0.267 µAh / (300/3600)h = 3.2 µA
Battery life: 225 mAh / 0.0032 mA = 70,312 hours ≈ 8.0 years

---name: low-power-designdescription: Optimize embedded power consumption — sleep modes, peripheral shutdown, battery life estimation, and power profiling---## When to activate- Optimizing battery life for embedded devices- Designing sleep/wake strategies- Profiling power consumption with current meters- Estimating battery life from power budgets- Implementing dynamic voltage and frequency scaling## When NOT to use- For mains-powered devices- For high-performance computing (power is secondary)- For battery charger circuit design## Instructions1. **Power budget.** Measure each component: MCU active, MCU sleep, radio TX/RX, sensors, LEDs. Create power budget spreadsheet.2. **Sleep modes.** Stop (CPU halt, RAM retained), Standby (most clocks off), Shutdown (only RTC + backup RAM). Wake sources: GPIO, RTC, UART.3. **Duty cycling.** Active for X ms, sleep for Y ms. Duty cycle = X/(X+Y). Lower duty cycle = longer battery life.4. **Peripheral management.** Disable unused peripherals. Clock gating. Power down sensors between reads. Radio off between transmissions.5. **Software optimization.** Minimize active time. Batch sensor reads. Process locally before transmitting. Use DMA for transfers.6. **Battery estimation.** Battery capacity (mAh) / Average current (mA) = Hours. Account for self-discharge, temperature, load profile.7. **Profiling.** Current meter (Nordic PPK2, Otii). Log at high sample rate. Identify unexpected wake sources and idle current.## Example```Power Budget: Environmental Sensor (CR2032, 225mAh)Mode | Duration | Current | Energy/cycle--------------|----------|----------|-------------Sleep | 295s | 2.5 µA | 0.206 µAhWake + Sense | 50ms | 3.2 mA | 0.044 µAhBLE TX | 5ms | 12 mA | 0.017 µAhTotal/cycle | 300s | | 0.267 µAhAverage current: 0.267 µAh / (300/3600)h = 3.2 µABattery life: 225 mAh / 0.0032 mA = 70,312 hours ≈ 8.0 years```

Frequently asked questions

Low Power Design