Investigation of Self-Powered IoT Sensor Nodes for Harvesting Hybrid Indoor Ambient Light and Heat Energy

Abstract

Sensor nodes are critical components of the Internet of Things (IoT). Traditional IoT sensor nodes are typically powered by disposable batteries, making it difficult to meet the requirements for long lifetime, miniaturization, and zero maintenance. Hybrid energy systems that integrate energy harvesting, storage, and management are expected to provide a new power source for IoT sensor nodes. This research describes an integrated cube-shaped photovoltaic (PV) and thermal hybrid energy-harvesting system that can be utilized to power IoT sensor nodes with active RFID tags. The indoor light energy was harvested using 5-sided PV cells, which could generate 3 times more energy than most current studies using single-sided PV cells. In addition, two vertically stacked thermoelectrical generators (TEG) with a heat sink were utilized to harvest thermal energy. Compared to one TEG, the harvested power was improved by more than 219.48%. In addition, an energy management module with a semi-active configuration was designed to manage the energy stored by the Li-ion battery and supercapacitor (SC). Finally, the system was integrated into a 44 mm × 44 mm × 40 mm cube. The experimental results showed that the system was able to generate a power output of 192.48 µW using indoor ambient light and the heat from a computer adapter. Furthermore, the system was capable of providing stable and continuous power for an IoT sensor node used for monitoring indoor temperature over a prolonged period.

Review of Next-Generation Wireless Devices with Self-Energy Harvesting for Sustainability Improvement

“…A novel optimization method was also proposed in this work, and the theoretical calculation provides an energy outcome of 22.3 KJ per 24 h. Chen et al, 2022 [17] proposed a solar-panel-and wind-turbine-based hybrid energy system for mobile edge-computing systems where a dynamic offloading algorithm is utilized to regularize the generated power. Xiao et al, 2023 [18] made a hybrid model with solar PV and a thermoelectrical generator to convert the ambient light and heat energy in a room into useful power. The work uses a five-sided PV panel for this operation, and the generated power is used for IoT sensors for increasing its sustainability.…”

Microbial Fuel Cell as Battery Range Extender for Frugal IoT

“…As introduced in Section 1, scavenging energy requires installing Maximum Power Point conditions: the electrical interface connected to the MFC should present an input impedance of the same value as the MFC effective internal impedance. The literature details several topologies of the DC/DC converter dedicated to energy harvesting [32][33][34][35]. In [35], the authors demonstrated that a BQ25505 IC associated with the TPS61200 IC produces an electrical interface with an efficiency of 59.6% but requires an input voltage larger than 236 mV.…”

Investigation and Improvement of Test Methods for Capacitance and DCESR of EDLC Cells

“…Electrochemical double-layer capacitor (EDLC) cells are a type of emerging electrochemical energy storage device with a high power density of up to 15 kW/kg [ 1 , 2 ], and are widely used in the areas of energy, IoT sensors, wearable strain sensors, electric power, construction machinery, rail transit, automobile transportation, and military [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 ]. The accurate performance characterization of EDLC cells is of great engineering significance to ensure their safety and reliability, especially under the two critical parameters: the capacitance reflecting the capacity to store electric energy and the direct-current equivalent series internal resistance (DCESR) affecting their instantaneous discharge ability.…”