Trouble Managing Power Consumption with Multiple Sensors on Sleep Mode (Arduino Uno)

Projects General Guidance
1

Hi everyone,
I'm working on a battery-powered project using an Arduino Uno and a few sensors (DHT22, MPU6050, and a light sensor). I’m trying to reduce overall power consumption by putting the board into sleep mode when not in use. The Arduino itself sleeps fine, but I’m not sure how to handle the sensors during sleep. Should I completely power them down using a transistor, or is it okay to just stop reading from them? Also, would that mess with sensor calibration or startup times when I power them back on?

Would appreciate any tips or real examples, I'm still learning how to balance power management in real-world builds. Thanks!

2

Have you checked the datasheets?

https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/downloads/pdf/mpu6050-6-axis-accelerometer-and-gyro.pdf

https://invensense.tdk.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/MPU-6000-Datasheet1.pdf

https://cdn.sparkfun.com/assets/f/7/d/9/c/DHT22.pdf

3

My gut feeling is you can just leave the sensors powered on and resume reading them when the power is restored.

4

Yeah, I’m definitely interested in trying both approaches now, leaving them on vs powering them down. I just wasn’t sure if sensors like the MPU6050 would need reinitializing or cause delays when powered back up. I’ll test it out and share how it goes.

5

Thanks for the links!
I skimmed through the datasheets and it looks like both the DHT22 and MPU6050 need a bit of time to stabilize after power-up, especially the DHT22. So yeah, I might need to add some delay or reinit code if I go with powering them down. Appreciate the help!