If you are having trouble with energy harvesting application design! "Gleanergy"

The Würth Electronics Energy Harvesting Evaluation Kit "Gleanergy" generates electrical energy from natural energy sources such as light, heat, vibration, stress/strain, and high-intensity AC magnetic fields, and can power wireless sensor nodes. These alternative energy sources extend the life of the kit's built-in battery and enable the kit itself to continue operating even if its battery life dies.

"Gleanergy" is equipped with a thermoelectric converter and solar cell on its board. The wireless board is equipped with an Arm® Cortex®-M3 processor with Analog Devices' SmartMesh IP networking software. A free evaluation software GUI is provided for the evaluation environment, and programs can be created using IAR Embedded Workbench. Programs created using a JTAG debugger or Eterna serial program can also be uploaded. The E-Ink display makes it easy to check the board's operating status.

This evaluation kit is equipped with an Analog Devices energy harvesting power supply and a wireless IC for building a mesh network, and by using the circuit as a reference, it is easy to design applications. Gleanergy consists of two boards, the DC2321A board and the DC2344A board.

Below are the details of each board.

Introduction of DC2321A board -Dust application evaluation board with E-Ink display-

"DC2321A" is an evaluation kit equipped with Analog Devices LTP5901 SmartMesh PCB module. It uses an Arm® Cortex® -M3 processor with embedded SmartMesh IP networking software.

The kit monitors and manages available energy, records information from sensors, and feeds it back to an E-Ink display. In addition, it is possible to share these data on the wireless network.

For details on how to use the evaluation kit, please refer to the demo manual linked below.
DC2321A Evaluation Kit Demo Manual

Introduction of DC2344A board -Multi-source energy harvesting evaluation board-

"DC2344A" is a multi-purpose energy harvesting evaluation kit equipped with Analog Devices energy harvesting power supply. The evaluation kit can accept solar, thermoelectric, stress/strain alternative energy sources, as well as high impedance AC and DC power sources.

The board has four independent circuits, each consisting of the following energy harvesting power supplies:

• LTC3106: 300mΩ Low Voltage Buck-Boost Converter with PowerPath and 1.6uA Quiescent Current
• LTC3107: Ultra-Low Voltage Energy Harvesting Power Supply and Primary Battery Life Extension Circuit
• LTC3330: Nanopower buck-boost DC/DC converter with integrated energy harvesting battery life extension
• LTC3331: Nanopower Buck-Boost DC/DC Converter with Integrated Energy Harvesting Battery Charger

As for the piezo element for stress/strain measurement, you can easily evaluate it by using "VLT-9001" manufactured by MIDE Technology.

For details on how to use the evaluation kit, please refer to the demo manual linked below.
DC2344A Evaluation Kit Demo Manual

Introduction of Würth Electronics components on the board

Components such as inductors and connectors used on the Gleanergy board are available from Wurth Electronics' product lineup.

Below are the Wurth Electronics parts on the board. You can check the details of the product by clicking the part name.

Würth Electronics components in Gleanergy

Introducing Energy Harvesting ICs from Analog Devices

Analog Devices offers a wide range of ultra-low power ICs for energy harvesting applications. Power management products convert energy from vibration (piezoelectric), photovoltaic (solar), and thermal (TEC, TEG, thermopile, thermocouple) sources for high-efficiency conversion to a regulated voltage or for feeding batteries or supercapacitor storage elements.

Boost converters that operate from as little as 20mV and battery chargers with maximum power point capability open up a wide range of application possibilities in industrial automation and control, wireless sensors, transportation, automotive, and building management applications.

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