The present disclosure generally pertains to systems and methods for using predefined network addresses in wireless sensor networks. In one exemplary embodiment, a system comprises a first node and a plurality of nodes defining a wireless sensor network. The wireless sensor network is configured to allow nodes to dynamically join, and each of the plurality of nodes has a respective network address for the wireless sensor network. The first node has a predefined network address that identifies the first node in the wireless sensor network, and the predefined network address is known to the first node prior to the first node joining the wireless sensor network such that the first node is able to immediately communicate via the wireless sensor network using the predefined network address upon joining the wireless sensor network.