Possibility of Powering Wireless Combustible Gas Sensors by Converting Thermal Energy

More than half of the energy, which is consumed for industry equipment powering, is wasted for heat losses. Improving energy utilization efficiency is possible using converting this heat to electric energy and directing it to perform useful functions. In this paper, the results of the research on the possibility of autonomous power supply of the combustible gas sensor node using the thermoelectric generator are presented. In this work, the catalytic sensor is used. The combustible gases concentration measurements are performed using the environment's overall explosiveness level assessment method. The method needs the measurements to be performed for several working temperatures of the sensor. That makes the task of autonomous powering more complex. The designed system consists of the thermoelectric converter, the power management unit and the sensor node. It was shown, that the presented system, using energy accumulation in the storage capacitor, can provide a consistent autonomous power supply for 12.5 seconds measurements and a 10-minute duty cycle.