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Semantic clustering is a recent technique for saving energy in wireless sensor networks. Its mechanism of action consists in dividing the network into groups (clusters) formed by semantically related nodes and at least one semantic collector, which acts as a bridge between its internal nodes and the sink node. Since semantic collector nodes need to perform more tasks than normal nodes, they deplete their energy budget faster, so it is necessary to use efficient mechanisms for electing semantic collectors to prolong the network lifetime. Our hypothesis is that an effective choice of semantic collectors allows a longer network lifetime. To test it, we start from a previous work of the authors of this article and we propose an algorithm for electing semantic collectors in a distributed way based on a fuzzy inference engine. The inputs of the inference engine are the residual energy of nodes and their received signal strength indicator (RSSI). Simulation results confirm our hypothesis, since the algorithm provides (i) an improvement of 17.4% in relation to another proposal of the related literature, and (ii) a gain of 68.8% over the time life of the network’s original work.