Low Power Ambient Energy Harvesting, Conversion, and Storage Circuits

If energy requirements of electronic components decline reasonably, then ambient energy scavenging and conversion could become a viable source of power for many applications. Ambient energy sources can be then considered and used to replace batteries in some electronic applications, to minimize product maintenance and operating cost. Power scavenging may enable electronic devices to be completely self-sustaining so that battery maintenance can eventually be eliminated. This research studied forms of ambient energy sources such as waste mechanical (rotational) energy from hydraulic door closers, fitness exercise bicycles, and its conversion and storage into usable electrical energy. Based on ambient energy sources, electrical energy harvesting, conversion and storage circuits were designed, built and tested for low power electronic applications.