The ULP coprocessor can lower the quite high power consumption of the ESP32 microcontroller. But it’s not that easy – our guide shows how to do it.
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The ESP32 microcontroller is ideal for implementing systems that communicate via WiFi and Bluetooth. The catch: the power consumption of the Espressif controller is anything but moderate.
Now you could simply use a power-saving microcontroller, use the ESP32 as a module and only switch it on when needed. However, it is quite cumbersome to implement such a two-part structure.
Luckily, there’s an easier way: Most ESP32 variants have a ULP (Ultra Low Power) coprocessor. This is a tiny processor that is integrated into the ESP32 – but can work independently of the main cores. It also has access to the GPIOs and the I2C controller. The ULP processor can be used to put the ESP32 into an energy-saving stand-by mode. The use of the ULP also has the advantage that the ESP32 can react to incoming events even when it is idle.
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