Energy Sources for Harvesting, Availability and Application

Energy harvesting is a technology applied for the capture of dissipated energy into electricity by energy recovery systems for various uses. It exploits different readily available ambient sources of energy for conversion to useful sources. like wind, solar, sound, vibrations, radio waves, plants, human beings. Conversion technologies applied include triboelectric, thermoelectric, and piezoelectric. Energy harvesting involves the collection of energy in small amounts from the environment for local application aimed at supplying energy to microsystems. It is an important function in renewable and sustainable energy technology. In this study, an overview of common energy sources, their power densities as well as applications are examined to establish their sustainability and possible role in the energy transition. The paper investigates the possible sources of energy for recovery and related the energy recovery technologies. The paper also determines that energy densities of common energy sources for harvesting. Energy sources for harvesting varies widely in nature and intensity and includes solar, wind, process waste heat, human beings, electrostatic forces, thermoelectric energy, electromagnetic energy and radio frequency among others. Energy harvesting exploits different mechanisms to produce electricity. They include electromagnetic induction, piezoelectric effect, electrostatic effect, photoelectric effect and induction. Harvested energy can be transported through both wireless and wired systems. The main applications of energy harvesting lie in wireless devices varying in applications and type and amount ambient energy harvested and device applications. The developments in nanotechnology and integration of various energy harvesting sauces and harvesting technology promise to significantly transform energy harvesting and make it viable for large-scale deployment and application of energy harvesting