nRF54L Series Express

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Processing performance and power consumption

Since the nRF54L Series is the next-level continuation of the nRF52 Series, let’s compare the processing performance and power consumption of the nRF54L15, nRF54L10 and nRF54L05 SoCs with the nRF52 Series. The delta column depicts the change in percentage, rounded to the nearest whole number.

Note

The numbers for the nRF54LM20A, nRF54LM20B, nRF54LV10A, nRF54lS05A and nRF54LS05B variants will be added later.

Processing power and efficiency

ScenarionRF54L15, nRF54L10, nRF54L05nRF52840Delta
Processing power (CPU running Coremark from NVM, cache enabled)503 CoreMark score (3.93 / MHz)212 CoreMark score (3.3 / MHz)137%
Processing efficiency20 µA/MHz (CPU running CoreMark from
NVM / 128 MHz)		52 µA/MHz(CPU running CoreMark
from NVM / 64 MHz)		-62%
CPU running CoreMark from NVM, cache enabled2.6 mA3.3 mA-21%

The nRF54L Series has a 128 MHz CPU speed, which is double the 64 MHz speed of the nRF52840 SoC. Combined with a slightly higher CoreMark score per MHz, this results in a 137% increase in processing power compared to the nRF52840 SoC. Additionally, the active current is reduced by 21%, dropping from 3.3 mA to 2.6 mA. The nRF54L Series also achieves 62% improvement in processing efficiency, measured in µA/MHz.

The bottom line is that the nRF54L Series can perform more computations in less time and with lower energy consumption. Reduced execution time allows the device to return to sleep faster, increasing the overall sleep time, which further lowers the average power consumption.

Sleep

ScenarionRF54L15, nRF54L10, nRF54L05nRF52840Delta
System ON, 256 KB RAM retention2.9 µA2.35 µA23%
System ON, no RAM retention0.7 µA0.97 µA-28%
System OFF with Global RTC wakeup0.9 µARTC unavailable in System OFF*N/A
System OFF0.7 µA0.4 µA75%

While the nRF54L Series significantly reduces active and idle current in several key scenarios, you will notice that some values are higher than on the nRF52840 SoC. This is primarily due to the higher leakage associated with a smaller process node, which can lead to slightly higher sleep current in specific scenarios.

Additionally, the nRF54L Series features a System OFF mode with Global RTC wakeup, which is not available on the nRF52 Series. This mode offers lower current consumption than the alternatives available on the nRF52840 SoC, enabling deeper sleep in more use cases. The closest alternative on the nRF52840 SoC is System ON with RTC wakeup, which consumes 1.5 µA, which is 87.5% more power.

Radio

Bluetooth LE

ScenarionRF54L15, nRF54L10, nRF54L05nRF52840Delta
Bluetooth LE TX 1 Mbps +8 dBm9.8 mA16.4 mA-40%
Bluetooth LE TX 1 Mbps 0 dBm4.8 mA6.4 mA-25%
Bluetooth LE RX 1 Mbps3.4 mA6.4 mA-47%
Advertising 30ms122.81 µA164.03 µA-25%
Advertising 200ms24.22 µA30.48 µA-21%
Advertising 2000ms5.14 µA5.89 µA-13%
Connected 0 data14.44 µA19.25 µA-25%
Connected ~50kB/s1.45 mA1.87 mA-23%
Connected ~100kB/s2.91 mA3.69 mA-21%
Connected ~150kB/s4.33 mA5.51 mA-21%
Connected Max4.98 mA6.36 mA-22%

Advertising: A beacon with device name, no other data, no scan response

Connected: Peripheral Nordic UART service

Processing efficiency: Solving 1M quadratic equations, looping every 2 seconds.

Thread (802.15.4)

Let’s take a look at the average sleep current for the two devices running Thread 1.4, in two different scenarios:

ScenarionRF54L15, nRF54L10, nRF54L05nRF52840Delta
Sleepy End Device TX 0 dBm with 1-second polling period2.75 μA3.56 μA-23%
Synchronized Sleepy End Device with 1-second CSL period2.75 μA3.58 μA-23%

The nRF54L Series has approximately 23% less average sleep current than the nRF52840 SoC.

See the Power consumption data for the total charge per minute and the average data poll charge.

Battery lifetime

Let’s consider the battery lifetime of a coin cell battery, specifically CR2032, with a nominal capacity of 225 mAh.

Bluetooth LE advertising

A Bluetooth LE beacon operates by advertising at 0 dBm every 10 seconds. It carries a payload of 31 Bytes, which is the maximum payload for an advertising packet with legacy advertising. With an average consumption of 3.8 µA, the battery can last for over 6 years.

Bluetooth LE connection

Let’s consider a scenario, in which you have a device connected to a central unit with a connection interval of 4 seconds. This setup would decrease the battery lifetime to 5 years and 4 months.

If you’re curious about the power consumption of your specific configuration, see the Online Power Profiler. It allows you to enter your connection settings and will estimate the power consumption for that connection.

Matter over Thread

Let’s consider a device running Matter over Thread on the nRF54L Series. With short idle time (SIT) and default configurations, the battery lifetime extends to 1 year and 7 months. This duration is 4 months longer compared to using the nRF52840 SoC.

In long idle time (LIT), the battery lifetime is over 6 years.

In Lesson 5, we will show you how you can measure the power consumption for yourself, using an nRF54L15 DK and the PPKII.

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