This book describes the fundamentals and principles of energy harvesting and provides the necessary theory and background to develop energy harvesting power supplies. It explains the overall system design and gives quantitative assumptions on environmental energy. It explains different system blocks for an energy harvesting power supply and the trade-offs. The text covers in detail different energy transducer technologies such as piezoelectric, electrodynamic, and thermoelectric generators and solar cells from the material to the component level and explains the appropriate power management circuits required in these systems. Furthermore, it describes and compares storage elements such as secondary batteries and supercapacitors to select the most appropriate one for the application. Besides power supplies that use ambient energy, the book presents systems that use electromagnetic fields in the radio frequency range. Finally, it discusses different application fields and presents examples of self-powered electronic systems to illustrate the content of the preceding chapters.

Energy Harvesting Technologies provides a cohesive overview of the fundamentals and current developments in the field of energy harvesting. In a well-organized structure, this volume discusses basic principles for the design and fabrication of bulk and MEMS based vibration energy systems, theory and design rules required for fabrication of efficient electronics, in addition to recent findings in thermoelectric energy harvesting systems. Combining leading research from both academia and industry onto a single platform, Energy Harvesting Technologies serves as an important reference for researchers and engineers involved with power sources, sensor networks and smart materials.

A thorough treatment of energy harvesting technologies, highlighting radio frequency (RF) and hybrid-multiple technology harvesting. The authors explain the principles of solar, thermal, kinetic, and electromagnetic energy harvesting, address design challenges, and describe applications. The volume features an introduction to switched mode power converters and energy storage and summarizes the challenges of different system implementations, from wireless transceivers to backscatter communication systems and ambient backscattering. This practical resource is essential for researchers and graduate students in the field of communications and sensor technology, in addition to practitioners working in these fields.

Also called energy scavenging, energy harvesting captures, stores, and uses "clean" energy sources by employing interfaces, storage devices, and other units. Unlike conventional electric power generation systems, renewable energy harvesting does not use fossil fuels and the generation units can be decentralized, thereby significantly reducing transmission and distribution losses. But advanced technical methods must be developed to increase the efficiency of devices in harvesting energy from environmentally friendly, "green" resources and converting them into electrical energy. Recognizing this need, Energy Harvesting: Solar, Wind, and Ocean Energy Conversion Systems describes various energy harvesting technologies, different topologies, and many types of power electronic interfaces for stand-alone utilization or grid connection of energy harvesting applications. Along with providing all the necessary concepts and theoretical background, the authors develop simulation models throughout the text to build a practical understanding of system analysis and modeling. With a focus on solar energy, the first chapter discusses the I−V characteristics of photovoltaic (PV) systems, PV models and equivalent circuits, sun tracking systems, maximum power point tracking systems, shading effects, and power electronic interfaces for grid-connected and stand-alone PV systems. It also presents sizing criteria for applications and modern solar energy applications, including residential, vehicular, naval, and space applications. The next chapter reviews different types of wind turbines and electrical machines as well as various power electronic interfaces. After explaining the energy generation technologies, optimal operation principles, and possible utilization techniques of ocean tidal energy harvesting, the book explores near- and offshore approaches for harvesting the kinetic and potential energy of ocean waves. It also describes the required absorber, turbine, and generator types, along with the power electronic interfaces for grid connection and commercialized ocean wave energy conversion applications. The final chapter deals with closed, open, and hybrid-cycle ocean thermal energy conversion systems.

The transformation of vibrations into electric energy through the use of piezoelectric devices is an exciting and rapidly developing area of research with a widening range of applications constantly materialising. With Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting, world-leading researchers provide a timely and comprehensive coverage of the electromechanical modelling and applications of piezoelectric energy harvesters. They present principal modelling approaches, synthesizing fundamental material related to mechanical, aerospace, civil, electrical and materials engineering disciplines for vibration-based energy harvesting using piezoelectric transduction. Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting provides the first comprehensive treatment of distributed-parameter electromechanical modelling for piezoelectric energy harvesting with extensive case studies including experimental validations, and is the first book to address modelling of various forms of excitation in piezoelectric energy harvesting, ranging from airflow excitation to moving loads, thus ensuring its relevance to engineers in fields as disparate as aerospace engineering and civil engineering. Coverage includes: Analytical and approximate analytical distributed-parameter electromechanical models with illustrative theoretical case studies as well as extensive experimental validations Several problems of piezoelectric energy harvesting ranging from simple harmonic excitation to random vibrations Details of introducing and modelling piezoelectric coupling for various problems Modelling and exploiting nonlinear dynamics for performance enhancement, supported with experimental verifications Applications ranging from moving load excitation of slender bridges to airflow excitation of aeroelastic sections A review of standard nonlinear energy harvesting circuits with modelling aspects.

Kinetic energy harvesting converts movement or vibrations into electrical energy, enables battery free operation of wireless sensors and autonomous devices and facilitates their placement in locations where replacing a battery is not feasible or attractive. This book provides an introduction to operating principles and design methods of modern kinetic energy harvesting systems and explains the implications of harvested power on autonomous electronic systems design. It describes power conditioning circuits that maximize available energy and electronic systems design strategies that minimize power consumption and enable operation. The principles discussed in the book will be supported by real case studies such as battery-less monitoring sensors at water waste processing plants, embedded battery-less sensors in automotive electronics and sensor-networks built with ultra-low power wireless nodes suitable for battery-less applications.

Waste Energy Harvesting overviews the latest progress in waste energy harvesting technologies, with specific focusing on waste thermal mechanical energies. Thermal energy harvesting technologies include thermoelectric effect, storage through phase change materials and pyroelectric effect. Waste mechanical energy harvesting technologies include piezoelectric (ferroelectric) effect with ferroelectric materials and nanogenerators. The book aims to strengthen the syllabus in energy, materials and physics and is well suitable for students and professionals in the fields.

Advances in Energy Harvesting Methods presents a state-of-the-art understanding of diverse aspects of energy harvesting with a focus on: broadband energy conversion, new concepts in electronic circuits, and novel materials. This book covers recent advances in energy harvesting using different transduction mechanisms; these include methods of performance enhancement using nonlinear effects, non-harmonic forms of excitation and non-resonant energy harvesting, fluidic energy harvesting, and advances in both low-power electronics as well as material science. The contributors include a brief literature review of prior research with each chapter for further reference.

This book contains chapters that discuss numerous methods and techniques in energy harvesting. Both theoretical and experimental results are presented from investigations that were carried out in the various chapters. Well-grounding methods and techniques presented in the new areas provide a good head start not only to those with interest in energy harvesting but also to experienced researchers who may want to look at energy harvesting from different angles. The concepts of energy harvesting are well articulated in the introduction of each chapter. It is my sincere hope that the readers of this book will find it a useful fountain of knowledge in energy harvesting.

With its inclusion of the fundamentals, systems and applications, this reference provides readers with the basics of micro energy conversion along with expert knowledge on system electronics and real-life microdevices. The authors address different aspects of energy harvesting at the micro scale with a focus on miniaturized and microfabricated devices. Along the way they provide an overview of the field by compiling knowledge on the design, materials development, device realization and aspects of system integration, covering emerging technologies, as well as applications in power management, energy storage, medicine and low-power system electronics. In addition, they survey the energy harvesting principles based on chemical, thermal, mechanical, as well as hybrid and nanotechnology approaches. In unparalleled detail this volume presents the complete picture -- and a peek into the future -- of micro-powered microsystems.