Tapping the cheap energy to power our gadgets

Vibrations which is always present in the environment can now be harnessed to power our gadget. Just imagine while you are walking, try to move your arms or when the wind is blowing, vibration is produced and thus can be converted into electric energy. Free electricity is also a good term for this.

What is needed to convert these vibrations into electrical energy is the piezo vibration sensor.  An example of a piezo electric sensor is like this:

 

 

This typical sensor can produce low alternating current but large voltage ranging from 1v up to 90v. The electrical energy produced by the sensor goes out of the 2 leads. There is an integrated circuit designed specifically to regulate the output of the sensor, I am referring to LTC3588. This system on chip electronic component requires minimal external component and the typical circuit provided by the manufacturer is in the following circuit diagram:

 

 





This is basically a piezoelectric energy harvester with 9V battery as back up power. There are also other implementations like Sparkfun's  LTC3588 breakout board uses solar energy as power source instead of the piezo vibration sensor. This works like you have to set a certain output voltage, the role of the solar panel is to charge the super capacitors connected in series, if the voltage across  the input of the breakout board reaches the preselected voltage output, the LTC3588 circuit will be awaken and start to power a device connected to its output, if the supercaps were fully discharge or their output voltage is less than the preselected output voltage, then the circuit will enter the sleep mode.

This technology can really be a must have for everyone who uses gadgets that requires electricity such as mobile phones. If 5million uses this technology, perhaps our fossil fuel consumption will be reduced and will be a huge savings for a nation where 95% of the population are struggling to make both ends meet.

Batteries are all over my place

Since 4 months ago when I started using solar panels as source of my electricity, I have bought a lot of batteries of different sizes and capacities. Batteries are very important because when you are not home during the day, you will need to store the energy captured by the solar panels so that you can watch tv and use your electric fan not to mention the power needed for your ligting needs. I also encountered several problems with these batteries because of their difference in s izes and capacities.

I noticed that when the 17ah battery is fully charged, I can use it to power my 29" Changhong LED tv for more than 2 hours but when I combine the larger batteries(26ah and 40ah) I still get 2 hours so I thought this is totally wrong. With 83ah, I should be able to use my tv 24hrs but I am not getting it. But that is what is happening and I think the basic explanation to this is that there are power losses maybe huge power losses when I connect the 3 batteries. The small ones acts as loads of the bigger ones and so while energy is consumed, the little ones competes with the actual loads(I am referring to the tv).

So to at least solve this problem and at least minimize the energy loss, I bought a 3amps ac-dc converter plus a mechanical timer to isolate my 28ah battery from the other 2 batteries so that when I come home at night, I can watch tv for at least 4 hours continiously and at the same time I can use my electric fan and lights without draining the batteries when I wake up in the morning and my theory has worked so far.

Utilizing the Power of the Sun

For 4 months now, I have been utilizing the energy coming from the sun to energize my gadgets. And within that 4 months, I have been doing several experiments and trying to solve everyday problems I encountered. Although it is quite expensive, I have enjoyed tingling with technology. It is as if I don't care about the money much as long as I really enjoy what I do and I really do enjoyed it.

First problem I encountered is I really can't leave my solar panels because in the place where I stay, a lot of strangers pass by and who knows, they may pick up some of my solar panels and easily run away. Second, I will have to check starting at 3 pm whether the solar panels still receive sunlight which they often do so I have to re-arrange them accordingly.

So I really need  to construct a small metal structure about 8ft high just to be able to use my solar panels 7 days a week because right now, I am only able to charge my battery bank twice a week and use this stored energy the whole week for my usb electric fans and led lights plus the Christmas lights.

So off I went to the hardware store and bought several flat angular bars and screws which cost over 2500 pesos and without much planning, I was able to finish the job in just 1 day.

So now, I will be able to use my solar panels 7 days a week and I just wonder how it would affect my energy needs. Currently, It could not adequately power my CHangHong 29" Led Tv and charge my 2 laptops.