To set up an energy harvesting system, you need a harvester, a storage element, and an AEM. The AEM is the central component of the system. It extracts the maximum power provided by the harvester and stores it in the storage element, so that this energy can be used later — and in some cases, it can even be used to directly power the application.
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WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT ELEMENTS REQUIRED TO BUILD AN ENERGY HARVESTING SYSTEM?
WHAT ARE THE POWER RANGES IN AN INDOOR AND OUTDOOR ENVIRONMENT?
The power generated depends on the type of harvester, its size, and the environment.
For example, in the case of Photovoltaic energy harvesting, the output power will depend on the size of the photovoltaic cell, the light intensity, and the PV cell technology used.
- Indoor Photovoltaic energy harvesting generates power in the range of hundreds of microwatts. (These values may vary depending on the size of the cell.)
- Outdoor Photovoltaic energy harvesting generates power that can reach tens of milliwatts. (These values may vary depending on the size of the cell.)
Other types of harvesters include thermal, RF, and vibration harvesters.
- Thermal energy harvesting (TEG) relies on temperature differences and typically generate power in the range of a few microwatts to several milliwatts, depending on the thermal gradient and the efficiency of the thermoelectric materials.
- RF (Radio Frequency) harvesting capture energy from ambient radio waves, such as those emitted by Wi-Fi, GSM, or TV signals. The power levels are usually very low, often in the microwatt range, and highly dependent on the distance from the emitter and the frequency band.
- Vibration or piezoelectric harvesters convert mechanical vibrations into electricity. The harvested power can vary from a few microwatts up to several milliwatts, depending on the frequency and amplitude of the vibrations as well as the mechanical structure of the harvester.
Each harvester type has its strengths and limitations, and the choice depends on the available energy in the environment and the application’s power requirements.
CAN I HARVEST ENERGY FROM MY WIFI?
Wi-Fi transmissions are limited by regulations to a maximum of +20 dBm at the transmitter. In most cases, this power level is insufficient for effective energy harvesting.
Significant losses occur as RF energy propagates through the air and along the RF path on the PCB. These losses are frequency-dependent and tend to be lower at lower frequencies.
To have full control over the emitted power, antenna characteristics, and transmission duty cycle, we recommend using a dedicated RF transmitter.
CAN THE APPLICATION BE POWERED DIRECTLY BY AN AEM?
Some AEMs have a regulated output to power an application circuit. Depending on the AEMs, different converter architectures are available. Some are designed with an LDO, with a BUCK, or with a BUCK_BOOST architecture.
Sometimes, the application circuit can also be supplied directly from the storage element or thanks to an external DCDC connected on the storage element and driven by the status of the AEM. In this case, a regulated output is not mandatory.
HOW CAN WE CONFIGURE AN AEM?
AEMs can be configured using the GPIO pins by connecting them to a high state or to GND. However, some AEMs include I²C communication for the configuration and monitoring. This allows overriding the configurations set by the configuration pins and allows accessing to all the AEMs configurations, enabling wider range of settings and allowing live system monitoring