Powering the Internet of Things

During 2008, the number of smart devices (things) connected to the internet exceeded the number of people on the earth. In 2020, Cisco and several other organizations estimate there will be 50 billion internet connected devices. Many of these devices will report to central servers and databases, while other devices may communicate directly with each other and develop their own intelligence. Most of these Internet of Things devices will be extraordinarily small and in many cased unseen.

There are many new microcontroller, wireless and sensor technologies that enable these small Internet of Things devices. Almost all Internet of Things devices will be wireless due to the expense and inconvenience of wiring these devices. . With no cord for data or power, these devices must be self- powered. There are only two ways internet of things devices can be powered:

• Non-rechargeable traditional battery that needs to be changed when exhausted or;
• Rechargeable battery using ambient energy harvesting that lasts the life of the product.

Recent advances in ambient energy transducers, rechargeable solid state batteries and high efficiency power conversion electronics are making Energy Harvesting-based power solutions cost effective. Energy Harvesting solutions are especially cost effective when the life cycle costs of changing batteries are taken into account. For additional information on how-to build internet of things energy-harvesting based zero power wireless sensors click here.