Energy harvesting and battery technologies for powering wireless sensor networks

Abstract

Due to the advances in wireless sensor networks (WSNs), factory and plant process automation systems are being reinvented. WSN-based industrial applications often cost much less than wired networks in both the short and long terms; automation engineers are empowering existing solutions with the new capabilities of WSNs. On the other hand, since industrial wireless sensor networks (IWSNs) consist of thousands of nodes, the problem of powering the nodes is critical. Power to the nodes is usually provided through primary batteries and this necessitates replacement when the batteries are depleted. However, the replacement may not be cost-effective or even feasible in most industrial applications.Though advancements in integrated circuit technologies help in saving more energy by leading to lower energy consumption levels, they do not eliminate the use of battery power. In this regard, energy harvesting technologies play a key role in extending the battery lifetime of the nodes. Wireless sensor nodes within industrial plants can operate from energy harvested from available energy sources such as heat, mechanical motion or vibration, indoor lighting, electromagnetic fields, and air flow. In this chapter, a review of existing energy storage technologies and various energy-harvesting techniques is given. The chapter then discusses open research issues in these topics.