Energy harvesting (EH) – also known as power harvesting, energy scavenging, or ambient power – is the process by which energy is derived from external sources (e.g., solar power, thermal energy, wind energy, salinity gradients, and kinetic energy, also known as ambient energy), then stored for use by small, wireless autonomous devices, like those used in wearable electronics, condition monitoring, and wireless sensor networks.Guler U, Sendi M.S.E, Ghovanloo, M, dual-mode passive rectifier for wide-range input power flow, IEEE 60th International Midwest Symposium on Circuits and Systems (MWSCAS), Aug. 2017.
Energy harvesters usually provide a very small amount of power for low-energy electronics. While the input fuel to some large-scale energy generation costs resources (oil, coal, etc.), the energy source for energy harvesters is present as ambient background. For example, temperature gradients exist from the operation of a combustion engine; in urban areas, there is a large amount of electromagnetic energy in the environment due to radio and television broadcasting.
One of the first examples of ambient energy being used to produce electricity was the successful use of electromagnetic radiation (EMR) to generate the crystal radio.
The principles of energy harvesting from ambient EMR can be demonstrated with basic components.
Operation Energy harvesting devices converting ambient energy into electrical energy have attracted much interest in both the military and commercial sectors. Some systems convert motion, such as that of ocean waves, into electricity to be used by oceanographic monitoring sensors for autonomous operation. Future applications may include high-power output devices (or arrays of such devices) deployed at remote locations to serve as reliable power stations for large systems. Another application is in wearable electronics, where energy-harvesting devices can power or recharge cell phones, mobile computers, and radio communication equipment. All of these devices must be sufficiently robust to endure long-term exposure to hostile environments and have a broad range of dynamic sensitivity to exploit the entire spectrum of wave motions. In addition, one of the latest techniques to generate electric power from vibration waves is the utilization of Auxetic Boosters. This method falls under the category of piezoelectric-based vibration energy harvesting (PVEH), where the harvested electric energy can be directly used to power wireless sensors, monitoring cameras, and other Internet of Things (IoT) devices.
Accumulating energy Energy can also be harvested to power small autonomous sensors such as those developed using MEMS technology. These systems are often very small and require little power, but their applications are limited by the reliance on battery power. Scavenging energy from ambient vibrations, wind, heat, or light could enable smart sensors to function indefinitely.
Typical power densities available from energy harvesting devices are highly dependent upon the specific application (affecting the generator's size) and the design itself of the harvesting generator. In general, for motion-powered devices, typical values are a few μW/cm3 for human body-powered applications and hundreds of μW/cm3 for generators powered by machinery. Most energy-scavenging devices for wearable electronics generate very little power.ik, batterij by Erick Vermeulen, NatuurWetenschap & Techniek January 2008
Storage of power In general, energy can be stored in a capacitor, super capacitor, or battery. Capacitors are used when the application needs to provide huge energy spikes. Batteries leak less energy and are therefore used when the device needs to provide a steady flow of energy. These aspects of the battery depend on the type that is used. A common type of battery that is used for this purpose is the lead acid or lithium-ion battery although older types such as nickel metal hydride are still widely used today. Compared to batteries, super capacitors have virtually unlimited charge-discharge cycles and can therefore operate forever, enabling a maintenance-free operation in IoT and wireless sensor devices.
Use of the power Current interest in low-power energy harvesting is for independent sensor networks. In these applications, an energy harvesting scheme puts power stored into a capacitor then boosts/regulates it to a second storage capacitor or battery for use in the microprocessor or in the data transmission.X. Kang et al. Full-Duplex Wireless-Powered Communication Network With Energy Causality, in IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications, vol.14, no.10, pp.5539–5551, Oct. 2015. The power is usually used in a sensor application and the data is stored or transmitted, possibly through a wireless method.Wireless Power Transmission for Consumer Electronics and Electric Vehicles 2012–2022. IDTechEx. Retrieved on 9 December 2013.
Motivation One of the main driving forces behind the search for new energy harvesting devices is the desire to power sensor networks and mobile devices without batteries that run on intermittent computing systems and need external charging or service. Batteries have several limitations, such as limited lifespan, environmental impact, size, weight, and cost. Energy harvesting devices can provide an alternative or complementary source of power for applications that require low power consumption, such as remote sensing, wearable electronics, condition monitoring, and wireless sensor networks. Energy harvesting devices can also extend the battery life or enable batteryless operation of some applications.
Another motivation for energy harvesting is the potential to address the issue of climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and fossil fuel consumption. Energy harvesting devices can utilize renewable and clean sources of energy that are abundant and ubiquitous in the environment, such as solar, thermal, wind, and kinetic energy. Energy harvesting devices can also reduce the need for power transmission and distribution systems that cause energy losses and environmental impacts. Energy harvesting devices can therefore contribute to the development of a more sustainable and resilient energy system.
Recent research in energy harvesting has led to the innovation of devices capable of powering themselves through user interactions. Notable examples include battery-free game boys and other toys, which showcase the potential of devices powered by the energy generated from user actions, such as pressing buttons or turning knobs. These studies highlight how energy harvested from interactions can not only power the devices themselves but also extend their operational autonomy, promoting the use of renewable energy sources and reducing reliance on traditional batteries.
Energy sources
There are many small-scale energy sources that generally cannot be scaled up to industrial size in terms of comparable output to industrial size solar, wind or wave power: Some wristwatches are powered by kinetic energy (called automatic watches) generated through movement of the arm when walking. The arm movement causes winding of the watch's mainspring. Other designs, like Seiko's Kinetic, use a loose internal permanent magnet to generate electricity. Photovoltaics is a method of generating electrical power by converting solar radiation into direct current electricity using semiconductors that exhibit the photovoltaic effect. Photovoltaic power generation employs solar panels composed of a number of cells containing a photovoltaic material. Photovoltaics have been scaled up to industrial size and large-scale solar farms now exist. Thermoelectric generators (TEGs) consist of the junction of two dissimilar materials and the presence of a thermal gradient. High-voltage outputs are possible by connecting many junctions electrically in series and thermally in parallel. Typical performance is 100–300 μV/K per junction. These can be utilized to capture mWs of energy from industrial equipment, structures, and even the human body. They are typically coupled with heat sinks to improve temperature gradient. Micro wind turbines are used to harvest kinetic energy readily available in the environment in the form of wind to fuel low-power electronic devices such as wireless sensor nodes. When air flows across the blades of the turbine, a net pressure difference is developed between the wind speeds above and below the blades. This will result in a lift force generated which in turn rotates the blades. Similar to photovoltaics, wind farms have been constructed on an industrial scale and are being used to generate substantial amounts of electrical energy. Piezoelectric crystals or fibers generate a small voltage whenever they are mechanically deformed. Vibration from engines can stimulate piezoelectric materials, as can the heel of a shoe or the pushing of a button. Special antennas can collect energy from stray radio waves. This can also be done with a Rectenna and theoretically at even higher frequency EM radiation with a Nantenna. Power from keys pressed during use of a portable electronic device or remote controller, using magnet and coil or piezoelectric energy converters, may be used to help power the device. Vibration energy harvesting, based on electromagnetic induction, uses a magnet and a copper coil in the most simple versions to generate a current that can be converted into electricity. Electrically charged humidity produces electricity in the Air-gen, a nanopore-based device invented by a group at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst led by Jun Yao.
Ambient-radiation sources A possible source of energy comes from ubiquitous radio transmitters. Historically, either a large collection area or close proximity to the radiating wireless energy source is needed to get useful power levels from this source. The nantenna is one proposed development which would overcome this limitation by making use of the abundant natural radiation (such as solar radiation).
One idea is to deliberately broadcast RF energy to power and collect information from remote devices. This is now commonplace in passive radio-frequency identification (RFID) systems, but the Safety and US Federal Communications Commission (and equivalent bodies worldwide) limit the maximum power that can be transmitted this way to civilian use. This method has been used to power individual nodes in a wireless sensor network.
Fluid flow
Various turbine and non-turbine generator technologies can harvest airflow. Towered wind turbines and airborne wind energy systems (AWES) harness the flow of air. Multiple companies are developing these technologies, which can operate in low-light environments, such as HVAC ducts, and can be scaled and optimized for the energy requirements of specific applications.
The flow of blood can also be utilized to power devices. For example, a pacemaker developed at the University of Bern, uses blood flow to wind up a spring, which then drives an electrical micro-generator.
Water energy harvesting has seen advancements in design, such as generators with transistor-like architecture, achieving high energy conversion efficiency and power density.
Photovoltaic