Abstract-We propose an improved energy consumption model for a heterogeneous network by adapting an existing distance based clustering concept to it. We assume that if the distance based clustering concept has improved a homogeneous network, the same concept if applied to a heterogeneous network will improve the latter. A heterogeneous network, which is an improved version of a homogeneous network, is considered. We apply our model on the Stable Election Protocol, which is a common routing algorithm designed for heterogeneous networks. We show that the Stable Election Protocol is improved in terms of longer lifetime at the expense of the stability period. Finally, we conclude by explaining our results and suggest improvement for the stability period. Index Terms-Distance-based clustering, heterogeneous network, stable election protocol, wireless sensor network.