Can a logger save energy by powering a sensor only during its reading interval?

The short answer

Sometimes, if the actual sensor supports intermittent excitation and has enough time to settle before measurement. Powering it only during the acquisition aperture can produce an invalid result if its output is still changing. The decision needs the sensor and logger timing together, including what the recorded value means after excitation returns.

Separate excitation, settling and acquisition

Obtain the sensor's required supply/excitation and readiness information, plus the logger's supported sequence. Vaisala's configuration example includes a sensor warm-up period before each reading. That example does not provide a universal delay. A fast logger input cannot remove the sensor's own electrical or physical settling requirement.

Budget the whole supported event

Hypothetically, a 0.5 W sensor energized for two seconds per minute consumes about 0.0167 Wh per hour, excluding startup changes and logger input. Energizing it for only a 0.1-second acquisition instead would not be an equivalent service unless the device supports that timing. The assumed power and durations are illustrative, not an intermittent-sensor specification.

Record whether the logger stores the requested or actual acquisition time. A correct powered duration can still be misinterpreted if its measurement aperture is associated with the wrong point in the excitation sequence.

Verify the reading at the accepted time

Ask the owner and instrument supplier to compare the proposed intermittent measurement with an appropriate supported reference and to define valid-data evidence. Include any sensor heating, memory or configuration behavior affected by cycling. Do not assume an old held output is a newly settled sample. Provide the approved event profile, frequency and validity requirements in the wind enquiry. Energy savings should be credited only to the accepted sampling method. No MARSTON logger sequencing feature, sensor compatibility or measurement accuracy follows from a simple reduction in powered duration.