energy harvesting News - CNX Software

September 23, 2024October 2, 2024 by Debashis Das - 1 Comment

MachineQ MQpower CT battery-less LoRa CT clamp measures up to 250A of current

MachineQ has recently introduced MQpower CT, a self-powered, IoT-enabled, LoRa CT clamp designed to monitor real-time current consumption. This CT clamp can measure both accumulated (Ah) and instantaneous current(A) with loads up to 100A and 250A with 1mA resolution. Additionally, it integrates a LoRa module for communication that gets powered by the induced current in the clamp itself. These features make this device useful for energy management, proactive maintenance, power monitoring, and more. We have covered various WI-Fi CT clamps in the past like the SONOFF POW Ring, the Emporia Vue Gen2 with 16 CT clamps, the ESP32-S2-based “smart power meter”, and more. Feel free to check those out if you are interested in Wi-Fi CT clamps. MQpower LoRa CT clamp specifications Connectivity – LoRaWAN Measurement range Up to 100A or 250A models 1mA resolution Accuracy ±1% (>5Arms) ±3% (≤5Arms) Misc Onboard reboot button and LED status indicator FUOTA (Firmware Update Over […]

June 5, 2024June 4, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

DFM8001 indoor energy harvesting kit harnesses solar energy (and mechanical, thermal, RF energy with extra hardware)

DFRobot DFM8001 indoor ambient energy harvesting kit can power IoT devices by harnessing solar energy, and the company claims it can also capture mechanical, thermal, and RF energy from the local environment but there’s no way to do that with that kit without additional hardware. The DFRobot kit is comprised of an evaluation board with the company DFM8001 energy harvesting module, two pluggable supercapacitors, and a solar panel used as power input. You could also use other sources emitting at least 150 mV gathering energy from RF, thermal, or mechanical sources. The board features two outputs one low-voltage (1.2-1.8V) terminal up to 20mA, and a high-voltage (1.8V-4.1V) terminal up to 80mA, and two battery connectors plus a few jumpers for configuration. DFM8001 energy harvesting kit specifications: Operating voltage – 3.3V to 5.5V DC Cold start condition – Input > 400mV 15uW Sustaining voltage after cold start – 150mV. Input voltage […]

April 23, 2024April 24, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Silicon Labs BG22E, MG22E, FG22E wireless MCUs target energy harvesting, battery-free IoT devices

BG22E MG22E FG22E energy harvesting wireless microcontroller

Silicon Labs xG22E is a family of wireless SoCs consisting of the BG22E, MG22E, and FG22E and designed to operate within an ultra-low power envelope required for battery-free, energy harvesting applications such as electronic shelf labels, Smart Home sensors, remote controls, and so on. Like the just-announced Silicon Labs MG26, BG26, and PG26, the new xG22E family features a Cortex-M33 core clocked up to 76.8MHz. As an evolution of the low-power BG22, the BG22E offers Bluetooth 5.4 LE connectivity with “Energy Conservation” to further enhance battery longevity and even support designs that eliminate the need for batteries. The MG22E is similar but embeds an 802.15.4 radio for Zigbee connectivity, and the FG22E provides a 2.4GHz proprietary plus the Cortex-M33 is clocked up to 38.4MHz. Silicon Labs BG22E, MG22E, FG22E specifications: MCU – Arm Cortex-M33 @ 76.8 MHz with DSP and FPU (38.4 MHz for FG22E) Memory – Up to 32 […]

September 12, 2023September 11, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

Sony energy harvesting module generates power from electromagnetic wave noise

Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation (SSS) has developed an energy harvesting module that uses electromagnetic wave noise energy to power IoT devices. The new module leverages Sony’s tuner development process to generate power from electromagnetic wave noise from robots inside factories, monitors and lighting in offices, monitors and TVs in stores and homes, etc. in order to provide a stable power supply needed to run low-power IoT sensors and communications equipment. The tiny 7×7 mm module uses the metal parts of electronic devices that serve as the source of electromagnetic wave noise as part of an antenna and employs a rectifier circuit in order to convert electromagnetic wave noise in a range of several Hz to 100 MHz into electrical energy and supply power to low-power consumption IoT sensors and communications equipment or to charge batteries. The module harvests energy from electronic equipment that generates a significant amount of electromagnetic wave […]

May 11, 2023May 10, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Energous 2W PowerBridge transmitter doubles wireless power for IoT devices

Energous 2W PowerBridge wireless power transmitter

Energous has launched the 2W PowerBridge transmitter that doubles the energizing capability of Energous’ 1W transmitter found in WattUp 1W active energy harvesting developer kit, the “Wirelessly powered sensor evaluation kit“, and various deployments in the field. Energous wireless transmitters are used in IoT applications across the supply chain, logistics, retail, industrial and agricultural industries, which benefit from lower maintenance and wiring costs, and the new 2W transmitter will provide better RF coverage and power levels. Energous further explains its 2W PowerBridge helps reduce the need for replaceable batteries and charging cables since it can power IoT devices at a distance in industrial, commercial, and residential settings leading to a reduced need for maintenance or human intervention, enabling a more automated workflow, and the deployment of “Active Energy Wireless Power Networks”. So while there will also be wasted energy with at-a-distance wireless power, it could still make financial sense for […]

March 6, 2023March 7, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

Riotee batteryless stackable IoT board embeds an nRF52833 module (Crowdfunding)

Nessie Circuits’ Riotee board features a Riotee module based on Nordic nRF52833 WiSoC with a 2.4 GHz radio that targets batteryless IoT applications thanks to a stackable design taking a capacitors add-on board and a solar panel. Batteries introduce maintenance costs and environmental issues with millions of batteries disposed of every day. That’s why companies are trying to provide solutions for batteryless IoT designs such as the Everactive batteryless IoT devkit or Telink energy harvesting wireless module for remote controls. The Riotee module, board, and ecosystem also aim to play their part in reducing the use of batteries in wireless IoT devices. Riotee board specifications: Riotee module Wireless MCU – Nordic nRF52833 Arm Cortex-M4F microcontroller @ 64 MHz with 512 kB flash, 128 kB RAM, 2.4 GHz radio Memory – 128 kB of non-volatile memory (MSP430FR5962 FRAM) for “automatic checkpointing of application state” Castellated holes with 11x GPIOs including two […]

October 29, 2022February 27, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Everactive launches batteryless IoT devkit using Evernet low-power protocol

Everactive has launched a batteryless IoT devkit to let engineers evaluate its ultra-low-power energy harvesting solution and the Evernet wireless protocol for the “Hyperscale” Internet of Things. The kit is comprised of two environment sensors (ENV+ Eversensor) with a low-light photovoltaic harvester, one USB Evergateway, and an unlimited number of accounts to the Everactive developer console for data visualization. The ENV+ Eversensor features temperature, humidity, and pressure sensors, as well as a 3-axis accelerometer, supports the Evernet IoT protocol, and instead of using a battery for power, the device relies on a photovoltaic cell that provides enough energy for continuous data streaming to the USB gateway at a rate of once every 15 seconds. The public details about the development kit are rather light, but developers will have access to a developer console for data visualization, the ability to sandbox data & add virtual sensors, as well as access to […]

September 5, 2022September 5, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Telink energy harvesting wireless module to enable batteryless remote controls

Telink Energy Harvesting Multi protocol Wireless module TV remote control

Telink TLSR8273-M-EH is a multi-protocol wireless connectivity module with energy harvesting capabilities implemented through Nowi’s PMIC, and designed for batteryless devices (or ones with “forever batteries”) such as TV remote controls, but also wearables, and electronic shelf labels among others. The solution is based on a 48MHz RISC microcontroller that supports Bluetooth 5.1 LE, 802.15.4 (Zigbee/RF4CE/6LoWPAN/Thread), and 2.4GHz proprietary protocols. With a single module integrating all main components required for batteryless operation, Telink says its solutions reduce BOM and size, as well as supply chain complexity, and improves user-friendliness by removing the need for battery swaps. Telink TLSR8273-M-EH specifications: Core – 32-bit RISC microcontroller @ up to 48 MHz (CoreMark 1.25/MHz) Memory – 64 KB SRAM with 32 KB retention Storage – 512 KB flash RF Bluetooth 5.1 LE up to 2 Mbps, with AOA/AOD support, Bluetooth Mesh IEEE 802.15.4 radio for Zigbee, RF4CE, 6LoWPAN, Thread 2.4GHz proprietary protocols RX […]