Release of wireless lighting control for energy conservation in factories & warehouses
Oberhaching, Munich, July 19, 2007
EnOcean, the leading supplier of the award-winning, patented, energy-harvesting wireless sensors, presents the breakthrough in thermal energy harvesting technology. With its new development Perpetuum ECT, EnOcean revolutionizes wireless sensor applications as it is able to power innovative electronic circuits from temperature differentials as low as 2° C.
EnOcean’s new product family Perpetuum ECT (Energy Converter Thermo) converts temperature differentials into usable power and enables the battery-free operation of ultra-low power wireless devices. The new harvester is based on a conventional Peltier element and on a revolutionary DC/DC converter which automatically starts operation at 10mV input voltage and provides 4,5V at its output. For comparison: the leading conventional DC/DC converters need about 400mV to start operation - a factor of almost 40 more. The output power of the energy harvester is in the range from micro-watts to milli-watts and depends on the actual temperature differential at the used Peltier element. It is ideal for use with EnOcean radio technology in sensors and even battery-free wireless actuators.
The presented thermo-driven wireless sensor system consists of the new DC/DC converter, a small standard Peltier element (15x15mm), and EnOcean’s sensor transmitter module STM110 connected to an external sensor element. Powered by the thermo harvester at minimal 2°C temperature difference, the STM110 will wake up on a regular basis, e.g. every 10s, acquire sensor values and transmit them via a radio signal over a distance of up to 300m.
"Competitors products are usually based on much more costly Peltier elements consisting of thousands of leg pairs. Due to our breakthrough in DC/DC technology we are able to run a thermal energy harvester with the cheapest standard Peltier elements available on the market", says Frank Schmidt, EnOcean´s CTO.
Thermal energy harvesting technology ensures a perfect support for wireless applications in various market segments such as building and industrial automation. Easy to install battery-free wireless sensors and actuators based on the EnOcean technology leads to higher energy efficiency in HVAC solutions and enables really green buildings.
