Indoor light energy harvesting using infrared LED

ABSTRACT

Wireless sensor networks are mostly used at remote locations. Batteries are used to power the wireless sensor networks. Replacing batteries at remote locations is a costly and cumbersome process. Therefore, energy harvesting is a viable solution to charge these rechargeable batteries. This paper describes the design and experimental evaluation of indoor light energy harvesting system using infrared LED array, which consists of IR transmitters and IR receivers in series and parallel combination. Using the proposed design a considerable amount of energy can be obtained from fluorescent lamps or tube lights, which can be used to charge super capacitors or batteries. A DC power of 462 μW has been generated using the proposed design. This system can be used in a wireless sensor network designed for automation of the light/fan in the rooms.

KEYWORDS:

• Energy harvesting
• IR LED
• energy storage
• wireless sensor networks

Acknowledgments

This manuscript is part of research presented at the International Conference on Advances in Nanomaterials and Devices for Energy and Environment held at IIITM Gwalior in Jan 2019.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.