TechZone
Energy Harvesting Solutions
News and articles of interest from the energy harvesting industry.

Digi-Key's Call for Papers
At Digi-Key, we welcome article submissions from our readers, licensed partners, and industry experts. We will review each submission and determine its suitability for our online TechZoneSM technology zones. Our editors will work diligently through every stage of the submission process to ensure a smooth workflow and the best presentation of accepted articles in each TechZoneSM.

Energy Harvesting Solutions Library
2013
06/19/2013Supervisor Circuits Aid Reliability, Extend Lifecycle in Ultra-low-power Energy Harvesting Designs
06/12/2013Buck-Boost Converters Enable Flexible Energy-Harvesting Designs
06/05/2013Carrier Signal Powered EEPROM Cuts the Wires
05/29/2013Tune In, Charge Up: RF Energy Harvesting Shows its Potential
05/22/2013Choosing a Power Management IC for Energy-Harvesting Applications
05/15/2013Harnessing Ambient Energy to Detect Motion and Save Power
05/08/2013Buck Converters Simplify Energy Harvesting from High-Input-Voltage Transducers
05/01/2013Battery-Charging Controllers for Energy Harvesters
04/24/2013Coping with Microwatt-Level Power Sources in Energy-Harvesting Applications
04/17/2013Battery Boost for Ultra-Low Power Systems
04/10/2013Tips on Developing an Energy-Harvesting Power Budget
04/03/2013Power at Your Fingertips
03/27/2013Scavenging Vibration Energy for Wireless Motor-Monitoring Sensors
03/20/2013Data Concentrators Combine AFEs, MCUs, and Radios to Key Smart Grid Efficiency
03/06/2013Maximizing Energy-Harvesting Efficiency from Thermal Sources
02/27/2013Specialized Low Input Voltage Boost Converters Enhance Efficiency in Energy-Harvesting Designs
02/20/2013Energy-Harvesting Storage Options: Rechargeable Battery, Supercapacitor, or Both?
02/13/2013Industrial Automation Ripe for Energy Harvesting to Power Wireless Sensor Networks
01/30/2013Harvesting Energy for Data Transmission in Industrial Automation Applications
01/23/2013Advanced ICs Simplify Accurate State-of-Charge Measurement for Lithium-Ion Batteries
01/09/2013Designing a Dual-Mode USB Mobile Power Source to Charge Devices from Solar Power or Batteries
01/03/2013Building in Rechargeable Power with Thin-film Storage Devices
2012
12/19/2012Energy Harvesting to Power Data Acquisition for Industrial Automation
12/12/2012Active Bypass Diodes Improve Solar Panel Efficiency and Performance
12/05/2012Powering an Arduino Board from the Environment
11/28/2012Constant-Voltage/Constant-Current Devices Optimize Li-Ion Battery Charging for Energy-Harvesting
11/21/2012Managing the Energy and Lifetimes of Thin-Film Batteries
11/14/2012Integrating Energy Harvesting Sensors to a Linux Gateway
11/07/2012Solar Energy Makes Inroads as a Backup Power Source for Cell Towers
10/31/2012Hands-On Review of Silicon Labs Energy Harvesting Reference Design
10/24/2012Energy Harvesting Drives Mobile Phone Technology in Remote Areas
10/17/2012New Piezoelectric Technologies Drive Energy Harvesting from Vibrations
10/10/2012Specialized ICs Facilitate Home Energy Management Systems Design
10/03/2012Energy Harvesting to Power Wearable Networks
09/26/2012EV Drive Electronics Evolve to Support Rare Earth-Free Motor Technologies
09/19/2012Power Management ICs Simplify Integration of Supercapacitors in Energy Microharvesting Designs
09/12/2012A Closer Look at Energy Harvesting: The Cymbet Energy Harvesting Development Kit
09/05/2012Charge Controller Design for Maximum Battery Lifetime in PV Systems
08/29/2012CAN Bus: Taking a Larger Role in EVs and PHEVs
08/22/2012Powering Microcontrollers with Scavenged Energy
08/15/2012Energy Storage and Management Technologies Highlight Electric Vehicles Conference
08/08/2012Solar-Powered HB-LED Street Lighting
08/08/2012Millimeter Scale Energy Harvesting Based Sensors
08/01/2012Accurate Power Measurement in Smart Meters: Specifying Components
07/25/2012Storage Alternatives for Energy Harvesting Applications
07/18/2012Storage Battery Solutions for Energy Harvesting Applications
07/11/2012Wind Energy Harvesting
06/27/2012Standards Drive Energy Harvesting in the Home for Smart Lighting
06/20/2012ICs Offer Options for Apparent Power Measurement in Energy-Metering Designs
06/13/2012Smart Lighting in the Enterprise
06/06/2012G3-PLC Power-Line Technology Makes the Smart Grid Smarter
05/30/2012Pitch Control for More Efficient Wind Turbine Operation
05/23/2012Minimizing Power Consumption in Energy Micro-harvesting Wireless Sensors
05/16/2012Line Filtering for Solar Power Inverters
05/09/2012Emerging Photovoltaic Technology
05/02/2012Meeting the Challenge of Designing an Energy-Harvesting Backpack
04/25/2012Accurate Power Measurement in Smart Meters, Part I: Design Considerations
04/18/2012Having the Factory Light Itself
04/11/2012Attractive Choices in Low Power Converters Optimized for Energy Harvesting
04/04/2012An Engineer’s Guide to Power Inverters for Solar Energy Harvesting
03/28/2012Energy Harvesting for Industrial Networking
03/21/2012Making Smart Lighting Cost Effective with Energy Harvesting
03/14/2012AFE ICs Simplify High-Precision Energy-Metering Design
03/07/2012ZigBee’s Smart Energy 2.0 Profile Brings New Capabilities and Design Challenges
02/29/2012Developing Energy Budgets for Low-Power Sensing Systems - Part II: The Art of the Power Budget
02/22/2012A Hands-on Look at the Maxim MAX17710 Energy Harvesting PMIC
02/15/2012Energy Harvesting Moves into Wearable Electronics
02/08/2012Energy Harvesting for Low-Power Wireless Sensor Nodes
02/01/2012Step-up Micropower Voltage Boosters Simplify Energy Harvesting Solutions
01/25/2012Evaluating the Options for Different Technologies to Harvest Energy From the Environment
01/18/2012Power Management ICs for Micro-harvesting Designs
01/11/2012Creating Smart, Remotely Monitored Solar Panels
01/04/2012Creating an Energy Budget for Very Low-Power Systems, Part I: Understanding System Elements
01/04/2012Harvesting Energy from Radio Waves
2011
12/28/2011Power Electronic Solutions for Off-Grid, Solar-Powered Applications
12/28/2011Squeezing Energy from Photovoltaic Panels
12/21/2011Ultra-Low Voltage Energy Harvester Uses Thermoelectric Generator for Battery-Free Wireless Sensors
12/21/2011Using Energy Harvesting for Smart Grid Monitoring
12/21/2011Building Alternate Energy Power Systems
12/14/2011Harvested RF Powers Remote Sensors
12/07/2011iCoupler® Digital Isolators Offer Key Benefits Over Optocouplers in Solar PV Inverters
12/07/2011Battery Cell Balancing for Improved Performance in EVs - Part II: Active Balancing Technologies
11/30/2011Optimal Power Management Techniques in Energy Harvesting Designs
11/23/2011Energy Scavenging with Piezoelectric Transducers
11/16/2011System Wiring and Interconnect for Rooftop Solar Panels
11/09/2011Harvesting Vibrations with Piezoelectrics
11/02/2011Energy Measurement ICs Provide Critical Metrics
10/26/2011Thermoelectric Energy Harvesting
10/19/2011Battery Cell Balancing for Improved Performance in EVs - Part I: Passive Balancing Technologies
10/12/2011Designing a High-Efficiency Solar Power Battery Charger
10/05/2011Battery Fuel Gauges Provide Accurate Range Prediction for eBikes, Light EVs
09/28/2011Solar Racers’ Innovations Hint at the Future of Automotive Electronics
09/21/2011Understanding Storage Battery Specifications for Energy Harvesting
09/13/2011Development Kits Reduce Time to Design Energy Harvesting Applications
08/24/2011Variables to Consider when Designing Solar Power Applications
08/17/2011Simplified Topology is Key to Solar PV Microinverter Design Reliability
08/10/2011Low-voltage DC-DC Converters Build Efficient Power Management into Energy Harvesting Designs
08/03/2011Flexible CdTe Achieves Top Photovoltaic Efficiency
07/07/2011Components for Solar Charging Portable Electronics
07/07/2011Digital Isolators Offer Improved Performance and Lower Cost Options for Solar PV Inverter Designs
07/07/2011New Interface for Control and Coordination of Solar Energy
07/07/2011Supercapacitors Meet Unique Demands of Energy-Harvesting Applications
07/01/2011How to Build Your Own Solar Panel
06/30/2011IGBTs Boost Solar Panel Efficiency
06/30/2011Micro-CHP Recognized by EPA
06/30/2011Wave Power Prototype Produces Electricity
06/30/2011Solar Cell and Photovoltaic Primer
06/30/2011Photovoltaics vs Concentrated Solar Power
06/30/2011Three Energy Harvesting Kits Prove Viable to Improving Energy Efficiency
06/30/2011Ultra-Low-Power MCUs
06/30/2011Microinverters Improve Efficiency
06/30/2011Water Heaters Find Key Role
06/30/2011Microinverter and MPPT technologies
06/30/2011Energy Harvesting Wireless Sensors