Energy Harvesting
What is Energy Harvesting?
Definition
Energy harvesting (also known as power harvesting or energy scavenging) is the process in which energy is captured from a system's environment and converted into usable electric power. Energy harvesting allows electronics to operate where there's no conventional power source, eliminating the need to run wires or make frequent visits to replace batteries.
An energy harvesting system generally includes circuitry to charge an energy storage cell, and manage the power, providing regulation and protection.
What are the types of energy harvesting?
Energy source examples include light (captured by photovoltaic cells), vibration or pressure (captured by a piezoelectric element), temperature differentials (captured by a thermo-electric generator) radio energy (captured by an antenna); and even biochemically produced energy (such as cells that extract energy from blood sugar).