---
title: "Battery Management: Hibernation"
canonical: "https://farmconnect.docs.rubiconwater.com/space/FCKB/blog/2205515794/Battery%20Management%3A%20Hibernation"
format: markdown
---
Battery management is critical to ensuring that when you need your devices, they will operate as expected.  Your radio node is powered by a 12V battery that is charged by a 10W solar panel, or a 3.6V internal battery for some monitoring devices.

It is important to undertake basic maintenance to ensure your batteries are optimally charged.  Some checks include:

- Ensuring your solar panel faces the right directions - they should face south in the northern hemisphere and north in the southern hemisphere
- Keeping solar panels clean and reducing shading where possible
- Using the hibernation feature when nodes plugged in to smart motor devices are not being used for an extended period (see below)

### Hibernation Mode

Radio nodes that are plugged into smart motor devices such as a BladeValve, BayDrive (post-2020) or RiserDrive will constantly supply a small amount of power to the motor.  During the winter months, this power drain can, in some conditions, cause batteries to discharge and be permanently damaged.

The way to avoid this issue is to use the hibernation feature within FarmConnect, which disables power to the smart motor whilst active.

Hibernation mode can be activated/deactivated on the Manual Control page.  It can be activated/deactivated for all devices (1) or single devices (2):

![image-20240408-010629.png](media://70b3c81a-3730-4aaa-8e62-5675201fedfb)

When hibernation is activated, the hibernate status goes from Awake to Hibernating:

![image-20240408-010956.png](media://924ce9d4-557c-4fb8-95c8-4c9d987330eb)

The icon for the device on the map will also change to a red square while hibernating.

While the device is hibernating, the motor will not be able to be operated.  To operate a device, simply wake up the device using the single or all device option.