Improved Energy Harvesting Technologies Boost Efficiency in Buildings, Finds Frost & Sullivan

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• Publié par: frost-sullivan
• Nombre de lectures: 25
• Langue: English

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Improved Energy Harvesting Technologies

Boost Efficiency in Buildings, Finds Frost &

Sullivan

PR Newswire

MOUNTAIN VIEW, California, July 10, 2012

- Mass adoption is delayed as more R&D is needed to establish a total

solution

MOUNTAIN VIEW, California

,

July 10, 2012

/PRNewswire/ -- Heating, cooling and

lighting are the main energy expenditures in buildings today. A building

automation system (BAS), which is powered by batteries, can assist in reducing

and optimizing these energy expenses, while maintaining a comfortable

environment for occupants. The key in making a BAS function in terms of

relaying data related to temperature, occupancy, wind flow, light intensity, and

so on, are wireless sensor networks (WSNs). A drawback for WSNs is the

dependence on batteries, which have severe limitations with respect to life

span and maintenance, among other shortfalls. Energy harvesters (EHs)

significantly improve battery life, thereby reducing maintenance and disposal

costs.

Analysis from Frost & Sullivan's (http://www.technicalinsights.frost.com)

Advances in Energy Harvesting Technologies for Building Automation

research finds that progression in EH technology has enabled BASs to be more

independent and flexible to identify and address energy wastage from

buildings. This is provided through EHs' ability to scavenge ambient energy,

including solar power as well as thermal, kinetic and electrical energy, allowing

EHs to resupply power regularly. From this enhanced energy reservoir, WSNs

are enabled to have additional features and options for end-users. Additionally,

the energy efficiency of EHs allow WSNs to be placed anywhere in a building,

with minimal overhead. This eco-friendly technology aligns well with popular

green initiatives currently being implemented.

If you are interested in more information on this research, please send an

email to Britni Myers, Corporate Communications, at [e-mail],

with your full name, company name, title, telephone number, company email

address, company Web site, city, state and country.

Universities are at the forefront of exploring techniques and designs to reduce

the EH footprint and increase the power density factor. Original equipment

manufacturer (OEM) initiatives have also caused a huge impact in bringing

together market actors to deploy products with interoperability and ease of

implementation for the end-user. Alliances have played a vital role in

collaborating and bringing together the different manufacturers under one

umbrella; however, more collaboration is needed at the university level.

"Reducing the energy consumption of EHs has not affected the performance of

the device," said Technical Insights Industry Analyst Saju John Mathew. "Rather,

the unique microstructuring design and dense packing has increased the power

density several fold. This enables the EH to be physically integrated with

different custom designed WSN applications."