Energy Harvesting Technologies Have Potential Apps In Wireless Sensor Networks

Analysis from Frost & Sullivan, Advances in Energy Harvesting Technologies, finds that energy harvesting technologies such as piezoelectric, thermoelectric and others will have potential applications in wireless sensor networks and low-power devices.

“Although micro-level energy harvesting technologies are very new compared to batteries, they can initially be used to recharge batteries and gradually replace them as self-sufficient devices,” notes Technical Insights Research Analyst Arvind Sankaran. “By replacing batteries, these devices eliminate toxic waste from disposed batteries and provide the perfect solution to many countries that are implementing stringent rules to monitor power consumption and environmental waste.” As energy harvesting technologies harness ambient and renewable sources of energy, growing awareness among consumers to use environmental friendly technology further strengthens demand.

“Low output power and below-par efficiency of energy harvesting systems currently limit the application scope of energy harvesting technology,” says Research Analyst Kasthuri Jagadeesan. “It faces difficulty in penetrating the market as it is still in the early prototyping or early commercialisation stage, as opposed to battery technology, which is well established.”

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Along with developments in materials and control electronics, researchers and manufacturers concentrate their efforts on the exploration of various kinds of energy sources and improve the performance characteristics.

Starting with low-power sensor applications, they can be gradually used to power portable devices and utilised in buildings for lighting and temperature control. Additionally, improvements in energy harvesting technologies would allow these devices to provide reliable and constant power for industrial, automotive, aerospace, defense and medical applications.

“Apart from the development of sophisticated control electronics and materials research, optimising manufacturing techniques and costs can also aid in making the technology cost-effective to the end user,” cites Sankaran.

Although the future looks promising for these emerging eco-friendly energy harvesting technologies, their acceptance in the market depends on many factors such as performance metrics, consumer awareness of harnessing ambient energy, funding for R&D and collaboration between manufacturers and technology developers. Energy harvesting technology will be able to establish itself in the market place on dealing with most of these aspects.