Turning vibration into useful dc voltage
August 3, 2009 by Paul Dvorak
Filed under Electrical Systems, Environmental Issues, Wind Power Generators, Wind Watch
The Joule-Thief energy harvesting modules and demonstration kits are first-of-its-kind random vibration dc power supplies. The design, from AdaptivEnergy, Hampton Roads, Virginia, scavenges and converts ambient mechanical energy, such as vibration and impact events, into a standard dc voltage. Other energy harvesters from the company are renewable and green power supplies that constantly recharge themselves from the environment, unlike ordinary batteries that lose their charge and must be replaced. Joule-Thief products are powering a variety of low-power microcontrollers used extensively in wireless and active RFID applications.
“Engineers can now create remotely-powered applications that are powered from environmentally available energy sources that have typically been wasted in the past,” says Mike Scott, VP of Active Products at Mouser Electronics, distributor for the devices.
Windpower Engineering Editor Paul Dvorak is an experienced mechanical engineer. Paul has seven years of hands on mechanical engineering experience and 23 years of technical writing. Paul is constantly in correspondence with wind turbine manufacturers and wind power researchers. Thanks to this correspondence, he is able to write about wind engineering topics before any other editor in the wind space.
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