Energy Scavenging
Energy Scavenging is a phrase I had never heard of until I started working with wireless sensor networks. The idea is to collect ambient energy and use it to power something, usually in the form of electricity. I thought the concept was still pretty obscure until I ran across it on the SciFi Tech blog, Green Week: 6 energy scavengers that get you power for free. Apparently this blog entry was part of NBC Universal’s Green is Universal promotion. Apparently last week was NBC’s Green Week where many of their shows had green themes. I guess I missed it, but ad least I ran across this interesting blog.
The article highlights 6 energy scavenging technologies:
- Tate ambient power module: a module patented by Joseph Tate of California which converts radio-wave energy into electricity. It has the added potential bonus of being able to detect earthquakes.
- Crowd farms: two MIT architecture grad students try to harvest the energy of many people walking and running, for example in a subway station.
- Rooftop wind turbines: modular wind turbine array for installation on urban buildings designed by Aerovironment. I guess solar arrays would count too.
- Waste heat capture: High Merit Thermoelectrics has a plan to harvest all that energy thrown off by truck exhaust systems and catalytic converters.
- Capturing methane: Oregon-based natural gas provider NW Natural is capturing methane from cow manure, fighting global warming one cowpie at a time!
- Power skin: IntAct Lab, in Cambridge, MA, has a motion-sensitive power skin concept that captures wasted motion.
In addition to those listed by SciFi, here are a few projects I am aware of:
- GreenPeak Technologies: Ultra-low power wireless control networks with energy harvesting interfaces for battery free nodes.
- EnOcean: Self-powered wireless sensors - Green. Smart. Wireless.
- Perpetuum: Vibration energy harvesting technology enabling wireless and battery-free sensing.
- East Japan Railway Company: As read on TreeHugger’s Japan: Producing Electricity from Train Station Ticket Gates using piezo elements to collect energy as commuters walk through.
Thanks for the post. Our Technology (High Merit Thermoelectrics) can create Semi trucks that are 15% (or better) more fuel efficient. You have the California Clean Tech Open Listed in your side bar, we were recently a finalist in that contest.
Thanks
Geoff
November 13th, 2007 at 10:50 pm
Geoff,
Thanks for the comment. My business partner and I were also finalists in the CCTO with our company Aptility. It looks like we are in similar phases of our business (although you have us beat on website for sure). Best of luck.
Ed
November 13th, 2007 at 11:05 pm
Energy saving and release prevention are among the moOne of the most urgent and yet effective way of slowing down the release of CO2 in the admosphere is by effectively protecting forests and coral reefs in nature reserves and protected areas and thus preventing them from going up in CO2 blasting flames. This has been elaborated at my blog and http://www.adopt-a-ranger.org/carbon_offset.htm and http://www.birdlist.org/phpbb/viewforum.php?f=4
Moreover, this would be the only hope of preserving maybe 50% of the species on earth in the course of this century.
To achieve this the world’s shortage of park rangers, estimated at over 100,000 in developing countries needs to be addressed. Currently no government or conservation organization in the world addresses this problem. that is why the Adopt A Ranger Foundation has been created.st important ways of stopping further global warming.
March 7th, 2008 at 7:36 am