Thermoelectric Energy Harvesting for Building Energy Management Wireless Sensor Networks

A thermoelectric energy harvester powered wireless sensor networks (WSNs) module designed for building energy management (BEM) applications is built and tested in this work. An analytic thermoelectric generator (TEG) electrical model is built and verified based on parameters given in manufacturer da...

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Main Authors: Wensi Wang, Victor Cionca, Ningning Wang, Mike Hayes, Brendan O'Flynn, Cian O'Mathuna
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2013-06-01
Series:International Journal of Distributed Sensor Networks
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/232438
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author Wensi Wang
Victor Cionca
Ningning Wang
Mike Hayes
Brendan O'Flynn
Cian O'Mathuna
author_facet Wensi Wang
Victor Cionca
Ningning Wang
Mike Hayes
Brendan O'Flynn
Cian O'Mathuna
author_sort Wensi Wang
collection DOAJ
description A thermoelectric energy harvester powered wireless sensor networks (WSNs) module designed for building energy management (BEM) applications is built and tested in this work. An analytic thermoelectric generator (TEG) electrical model is built and verified based on parameters given in manufacturer data sheets of Bismuth Telluride TEGs. A charge pump/switching regulator two-stage ultra-low voltage step-up DC/DC converter design is presented in this work to boost the <0.5 V output voltage of TEG to usable voltage level for WSN (3.3 V). The design concept, device simulation, circuits schematic, and the measurement results are presented in detail. The prototype device test results show 25% end-to-end conversion efficiency in a wide range of input temperatures/voltages. Further tests demonstrate that the proposed thermoelectric generator design can effectively power WSN module which operates with a 1.7% duty cycle (5.8 seconds measurement time interval) when the prototype is placed on a typical wall-mount heater (60°C surface temperature). The thermoelectric energy harvesting powered WSN demonstrates duty cycles significantly higher than the required duty cycle for BEM WSN applications.
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institution Kabale University
issn 1550-1477
language English
publishDate 2013-06-01
publisher Wiley
record_format Article
series International Journal of Distributed Sensor Networks
spelling doaj-art-c8ffc837d5af4337964e4ba229789e082025-08-20T03:24:11ZengWileyInternational Journal of Distributed Sensor Networks1550-14772013-06-01910.1155/2013/232438Thermoelectric Energy Harvesting for Building Energy Management Wireless Sensor NetworksWensi WangVictor CioncaNingning WangMike HayesBrendan O'FlynnCian O'MathunaA thermoelectric energy harvester powered wireless sensor networks (WSNs) module designed for building energy management (BEM) applications is built and tested in this work. An analytic thermoelectric generator (TEG) electrical model is built and verified based on parameters given in manufacturer data sheets of Bismuth Telluride TEGs. A charge pump/switching regulator two-stage ultra-low voltage step-up DC/DC converter design is presented in this work to boost the <0.5 V output voltage of TEG to usable voltage level for WSN (3.3 V). The design concept, device simulation, circuits schematic, and the measurement results are presented in detail. The prototype device test results show 25% end-to-end conversion efficiency in a wide range of input temperatures/voltages. Further tests demonstrate that the proposed thermoelectric generator design can effectively power WSN module which operates with a 1.7% duty cycle (5.8 seconds measurement time interval) when the prototype is placed on a typical wall-mount heater (60°C surface temperature). The thermoelectric energy harvesting powered WSN demonstrates duty cycles significantly higher than the required duty cycle for BEM WSN applications.https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/232438
spellingShingle Wensi Wang
Victor Cionca
Ningning Wang
Mike Hayes
Brendan O'Flynn
Cian O'Mathuna
Thermoelectric Energy Harvesting for Building Energy Management Wireless Sensor Networks
International Journal of Distributed Sensor Networks
title Thermoelectric Energy Harvesting for Building Energy Management Wireless Sensor Networks
title_full Thermoelectric Energy Harvesting for Building Energy Management Wireless Sensor Networks
title_fullStr Thermoelectric Energy Harvesting for Building Energy Management Wireless Sensor Networks
title_full_unstemmed Thermoelectric Energy Harvesting for Building Energy Management Wireless Sensor Networks
title_short Thermoelectric Energy Harvesting for Building Energy Management Wireless Sensor Networks
title_sort thermoelectric energy harvesting for building energy management wireless sensor networks
url https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/232438
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AT mikehayes thermoelectricenergyharvestingforbuildingenergymanagementwirelesssensornetworks
AT brendanoflynn thermoelectricenergyharvestingforbuildingenergymanagementwirelesssensornetworks
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