Energy harvesting: a thin film approach - EE Times Europe

Fig. 2: Using energy harvesting in a bus bell push from BMAC.
Battery powered push buttons also prove inadequate as they
require routine replacement, regular maintenance and have a
negative impact on the environment, especially in their waste
cycle,” says Andy Overend, Sales Manager at BMAC. “With the
batteryless wireless technology we have developed a totally
electro mechanical Wireless Bell Push system – solving all these
problems.”
Other technology suppliers are also focussing on energy
harvesting for its lower costs and long lifetime. Silicon Labs has
integrated DC-DC converters into its 8-bit wireless microcontrollers,
simplifying energy harvesting system development.
“Energy harvesting technology has grown quite popular
and is expected to become even more prevalent in the coming
years for the many benefits it provides to embedded system
designs,” said Farris Bar, Senior Applications Engineer at Silicon
Laboratories. “Properly designed energy harvesting systems
are capable of operating perpetually once they overcome the
initial power-on reset. With careful system design, the lifespan
of energy harvesting systems can be extended to more than 20
years.”
The company’s recent acquisition of Ember provides 32-bit
microcontroller and Zigbee wireless expertise through a team
in Cambridge, UK. This will form the base of a 32-bit wireless
capability that can be powered by energy harvesting sensors.
BMAC used modules from German energy harvesting specialist
EnOcean, which opened up its technology in an open
standard earlier in the year. This has boosted the EnOcean
Alliance to around 300 members, adding companies such as
Somfy, Telefunken Smart Building, Deuta Controls, Weinzierl,
Dooya, Viessmann, Waldmann, NEC, Omron, Vimar and NTT.
The technology, now part of the ISO/IEC 14543-3-10 standard,
has been integrated into 1000 interoperable products so far with
smart home solutions emerging as a new trend.
“In 2011, wireless sensors accounted for just over 15% of
the 21 million building automation sensors shipped in the EMEA
and the Americas markets combined. The number of wireless
sensors is forecast to increase to over 25% of total building
automation sensors in EMEA and the Americas by 2015,” said
William Rhodes, Senior Market Analyst at IHS IMS Research.
“The success of the EnOcean Alliance shows that we are still
a long way from exhausting the application opportunities for energy
harvesting wireless technology in buildings and other application
fields,” said Graham Martin, chairman of the EnOcean
Alliance. “More and more companies worldwide are recognising
the potential of this maintenance-free technology for the development
of intelligent and energy-efficient solutions.”
German system developer IQfy has developed two smart
home systems using energy harvesting. The IQ Chair features
integrated wireless technology that uses a batteryless motion
sensor to control lighting, heating and ventilation based on
presence. This automation function can save up to 40 percent
of electricity and energy costs in offices – without any negative
effects on employees’ work routines. With IQ Mat, a motion
sensor integrated into a mattress registers the presence of
someone in the bed, and automatically controls lighting, heating
or electrical devices. For example, night lighting may be
triggered if the physical load on the mattress is removed during
night hours.
This week in Birmingham, UK, Ecologix Controls is demonstrating
its latest energy harvesting CO 2
, temperature and humidity
sensor alongside its Eco-Sphere Energy Manager to help
streamline the operational costs of buildings, while leading UK
switch supplier MK Electric is using the EnOcean technology to
place switches anywhere without having to worry about wiring.
Its Echo range of energy harvesting wireless switches make
use of the energy generated by slight changes in pressure, light
levels or temperature.
Table 1: International Energy Efficiency Scorecard by the
American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE).
www.electronics-eetimes.com Electronic Engineering Times Europe September 2012 27