Created by Granz Scientific LLC, the SN1 Solar Node is an ESP32-C3-driven IoT node/development board tailored for off-grid IoT projects. Similar boards like the Seeed Studio Wio Tracker or industrial controllers like the DFRobot LoRaWAN Control Terminal offer independence in battery management and weatherproofing. Conversely, products such as the SenseCAP Solar Node P1 come fully integrated without options for custom hardware.
The SN1 Solar Node distinguishes itself with an IP67-rated enclosure, a solar panel on its lid, 18650 battery compatibility, and prototyping strip-board areas for custom circuitry. It also features a smart power switch that enables battery charging via the solar panel even while the board is off. The node allows battery voltage monitoring, breaks out most GPIOs for easy access, and has optional jumpers for an onboard LED and temperature sensor. It supports single or dual 18650 battery configurations (trading off prototyping space) and can be powered or charged through solar or USB-C, making it ideal for remote IoT deployments like environmental monitoring, smart agriculture, and distributed sensor networks.
Specifications of the SN1 Solar Node:
- Core module – ESP32-C3-WROOM-02U
- SoC – ESP32-C3 single-core RISC-V processor @ 160 MHz with 2.4 GHz WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 5.0 LE
- Storage – 4MB QSPI flash (typical)
- External antenna U.FL connector
- USB – USB-C port for programming, power, and charging
- Expansion
- 16-pin GPIO header with UART, I2C, power, and I/O
- Dedicated prototyping strip-board area for custom sensor integration
- Jumpers (J5, J6, J7) for connecting an onboard thermistor (TH1) and an indicator LED (LED1)
- Miscellaneous
- SPDT power toggle switch
- Onboard LED
- Onboard thermistor (TH1)
- “CHRG” and “DONE” indicator LEDs (LED