December 2025 | Tips & Information
How City Labs Batteries Cut IoT Sensor Maintenance Costs
For many organizations deploying large IoT networks, maintenance—not hardware—is the true driver of cost. Replacing or servicing batteries consumes time, requires skilled labor, and often involves sending technicians into remote, hazardous, or high-security sites. As IoT deployments scale into the thousands, traditional power solutions can limit both reliability and ROI.
City Labs’ long-life NanoTritium™ batteries address this problem directly. By providing stable, low-power energy for years or even decades, they reduce the need for routine battery replacement and help eliminate costly field servicing. For engineers and developers designing systems where uptime and predictability matter, these extended-life power sources can make IoT infrastructure more resilient and significantly more cost-efficient over the full deployment cycle.
Why IoT Sensor Maintenance Costs Are So High
Battery-related maintenance is one of the most expensive—and least predictable—components of IoT ownership. Even when sensors themselves are inexpensive, the work involved in reaching them is not. And in industrial, aerospace, defense, or environmental settings, physical access can be heavily constrained.
Two technical challenges tend to drive maintenance frequency:
Short operational life of conventional batteries
Most IoT sensors use coin cells or lithium primary batteries that deplete faster than anticipated, especially under extreme temperatures or continuous duty cycles. Variability in chemical performance makes scheduling replacement difficult.
Environmental stressors
Sensors placed in sub-zero conditions, high-radiation zones, vibration-heavy equipment, or high-humidity environments experience faster battery degradation—and sometimes outright failure.
For organizations with thousands of nodes, these factors multiply quickly. The result is a growing demand for power sources designed to operate predictably, regardless of location or environmental load.
How City Labs’ Long-Life Batteries Reduce Maintenance Burden
City Labs manufactures solid-state betavoltaic batteries engineered for ultra-low-power IoT devices. These power sources convert energy from the decay of tritium into continuous electrical power. Because they do not rely on volatile chemical reactions, they avoid the degradation processes that shorten the life of conventional batteries.
Several characteristics directly reduce maintenance requirements:
Multi-year to multi-decade operation
NanoTritium™ batteries provide stable, predictable output over long durations, making them well-suited for sensors designed around low-power duty cycles. Their output curve is gradual and mathematically predictable, which allows engineers to size power budgets accurately.
Solid-state reliability
With no electrolytes, liquids, or moving parts, these batteries do not swell, corrode, or experience thermal runaway. This significantly reduces the chances of device failure in long-term deployments.
Inherent resilience to extreme conditions
NanoTritium™ batteries remain stable under high vibration, extreme temperatures, and radiation exposure. This makes them particularly valuable when used in outdoor IoT sensors or in industrial settings where environmental loads are non-negotiable.
These characteristics mean far fewer site visits to replace depleted power sources—and far better predictability in long-term system performance.
The ROI of Extended-Life Power for IoT Deployments
For organizations deploying large IoT networks, ROI often hinges on reducing total lifetime maintenance. Battery service represents a disproportionate share of these costs, because it typically requires:
- Labor from trained technicians
- Physical travel to each sensor location
- Equipment or access approvals
- Downtime planning for sensitive environments
By shifting to long-life power sources, organizations reduce the frequency of these interventions. Even modest reductions in truck rolls translate to substantial savings in operational budgets.
Additionally, predictable power longevity improves planning across the entire device lifecycle. Engineers can design maintenance schedules around hardware, not around unpredictable battery depletion—and operations teams can better forecast replacement cycles.
City Labs offers a range of long-life power solutions, helping organizations match the right device architecture to their power and longevity needs.
Designed for Harsh Environments and Long-Term Reliability
Many IoT sensors operate in far-from-ideal lab conditions. They may be mounted on infrastructure exposed to freeze-thaw cycles, embedded in sealed housings, or placed in locations where accessing the device can be more expensive than replacing the hardware itself.
City Labs’ batteries can even survive the extreme cold, highlighting the crucial relationship between battery chemistry and field reliability. Solid-state betavoltaics remain stable through temperature cycles that cause conventional batteries to lose capacity or fail outright.
For IoT applications requiring continuous, predictable power at low wattage, City Labs’ betavoltaics for the Internet of Things provide a compelling path to multi-year performance with no chemical degradation.
How Longer Battery Life Enables Scalable IoT Deployments
Scaling from dozens of sensors to hundreds or thousands often exposes weaknesses in power strategy. If each device requires periodic battery replacement, the maintenance workload grows linearly with deployment size.
Long-life power sources change that equation. With predictable low-power output and a multi-year lifespan, betavoltaics support architectures where sensors can remain deployed without service for extended periods. This is especially valuable for:
- Structural health monitoring
- Environmental and climate sensors
- Security and perimeter instrumentation
- Remote industrial assets
- Embedded aerospace and defense systems
Trusted in Critical and Hard-to-Reach Applications
City Labs’ technology has been selected for projects with demanding reliability requirements—including work with NASA, the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Space Force, and the NIH. These collaborations underscore the need for power sources that maintain performance where conventional chemistries fall short.
In aerospace and defense environments, device access may be impossible after launch or deployment. The same principle applies to terrestrial IoT systems embedded in infrastructure, industrial equipment, or hazardous locations. A battery designed for long-term stability reduces both operational uncertainty and device failure risk.
Partner With City Labs to Reduce IoT Downtime
Organizations looking to reduce IoT maintenance costs benefit from power sources that minimize site visits, improve reliability, and provide predictable long-term performance. City Labs’ betavoltaic architectures support these goals by delivering continuous micro-power in a compact, sealed, solid-state form factor.
Contact us to learn how we can help you reduce your IoT downtime today.
