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 enough to power a LED.  When there ...

It’s undeniable that South Africa is experiencing a critical electricity crisis. On the positive side, it’s forcing us to conserve and consider alternative sources of energy. My mom sponsored our household with a cheap Chinese solar panel with battery pack and LED lights to use during load shedding (we live in Cape Town zone 6 and you can find the schedule here). This made me wonder: how much solar power do ...

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 manufac ...