Recently, I built an energy harvesting circuit based on an ultra low voltage DC/DC step up converter chip (LTC3108) from Linear Technology. With a 1:100 coil transformer (CoilCraft LPR6235), it converts the tiny voltage generated from Peltier thermo-electric generator into high enough level to drive small circuits. In the following video, I demonstrated that body heat is …
This is a magic box which will let you monitor the power consumption of your house from anywhere on the Internet! It measures both true power (Watts) and apparent (VA) power, it keeps a running total of electricity units used, and measures mains frequency as a bonus. The project uses a Particle Core(*) module – …
A team of Michigan State University (MSU) researchers has created a transparent solar concentrator able to turn any window (or other sheet of glass, such as the screen for a smartphone) into a photovoltaic solar cell. What makes this development different? The panel is truly transparent. Earlier attempts at building transparent solar cells resulted in …
See-through solar concentrator harvests energy from sunlight Continue Reading
Indoor lighting offers a convenient energy source for many applications but lacks the high-power levels of solar energy. In fact, indoor lighting energy-harvesting systems face a number of challenges that differ subtlety from those encountered in solar-energy harvesting. Nevertheless, engineers can quickly implement energy-harvesting designs using a variety of components and specialized devices from manufacturers …
Specialized ICs, PV Cells Enable Energy Harvesting from Indoor Lighting Continue Reading
A term „EC fan“ (electronic commutation) is generally used to mark energy-saving AC fans. In fact, these are DC (brushless) fans with AC/DC module and other electronics. EC fans reach up to 90% efficiency and they consume 50% less energy than traditional AC fans. At the same time, a typical „50Hz“ motor noise is eliminated …
Modern EC fans are able to save up to 50% of energy Continue Reading
Motor control is becoming the power industry’s fastest changing technology area. The reason for this is the requirement to improve energy efficiency from the millions of motors which are used in our homes, factories and cars. New developments in motor controller design, current sensing and control algorithms will be needed if new and more stringent …
New energy efficiency rules will change motor control design Continue Reading
Part 1. Analog Front-End. Opto-Isolator. Looking at the Power Quality Analyzer display, I was wandering, if there is any error in the measurement results, introduced by transformer. Overall THD picture doesn’t change much, suspiciously drawing same chart in the morning and in the evening, when electrical grid load significantly differs. Obviously, to estimate effect of …
