Webinars & Slide Decks
Charge controllers, who needs them? Optimizing MPPT for Energy Harvesting Applications
- In partnership with Sensors Converge
In the world of energy harvesting, many sources, such as solar, TEG, and piezoelectric devices, are commercially available over a wide range of different power levels, from microwatts to kilowatts. Each requires some output impedance control to maximize the power collected. If you are designing a system, you might wonder, how do I connect a harvester to my device? In many, but not all, cases, you will need a charge controller. This talk will cover different charge controller types, from pulse-width modulation (PWM) to maximum power point tracking (MPPT) to direct charging, and how they work. The talk will also highlight differences between types of charge controllers that fall under the MPPT name. Finally, selection criteria will be presented to help you choose the ideal charge controller for your application.
Designing Perpetual IoT Edge Devices Using Solar PMIC and Supercap Technology
- In partnership with Global Spec
PowerFilm, e-peas and CAP-XX have collaborated on this webinar to help interested design engineers and IoT professionals understand the components of a solar energy harvesting solution using PMICs and supercapacitors to provide a range of power options for IoT devices. While batteries are a simple solution for IoT devices they can be bulky, quick to drain depending on device functionality, and expensive to maintain and replace.
Key Takeaways
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Extend battery life, reduce battery size, or replace batteries completely
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Expand device functionality by increasing your power budget
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Keep your solution CAPEX and OPEX under control
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Expand ROI by increasing QoS and edge devices service time.
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Recover from unexpected power interruptions or usage spikes
Eliminate Batteries in IoT Devices with Indoor Solar and Long-Life Supercapacitors
- In partnership with Global Spec
PowerFilm and CAP-XX collaborated in this webinar to help interested design engineers and IoT professionals understand how solar energy harvesting and supercapacitors can provide a range of power options for IoT devices. While batteries are a simple solution for IoT devices, they can be bulky, quick to drain depending on device functionality, and expensive to maintain and replace.
Key Takeaways
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Learn how to extend battery life, reduce battery size, or replace batteries completely with PowerFilm solar energy harvesting and CAP-XX ultra-thin supercapacitors
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Discover how to expand device functionality by increasing your power budget
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Reduce system operating costs by extending battery life or eliminating batteries completely
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Increase recovery from unexpected power interruptions or usage spikes
When Does Energy Harvesting Make Sense?
- In partnership with Sensors Converge
Energy harvesting is an excellent power solution for a wide variety of low-power electronics and IoT devices. Well-suited applications rely on a balance between available power, device functionality, and cost. These parameters aren't always easy to quantify, and seemingly minor changes to functionality or use cases can have a significant power impact. This presentation will provide simple guidelines for what makes an application well suited for energy harvesting and ways to overcome common roadblocks.
Practical Design Considerations For Energy Harvesting With Solar
- In partnership with Sensors Converge
In this webinar, PowerFilm President Dan Stieler, Ph.D., dives into designing an effective solar energy harvesting system. Specifically, discussing the differences between indoor and outdoor light, how efficiency is determined and why high efficiency may not mean more power, PMIC features that optimize solar energy collection, and properly sizing your PV.
Powering The IoT Edge: It's All About Efficiency
- In partnership with Open Systems Media
Power efficiency should be a simple metric to measure. It’s essentially the ratio of output power to input power. However, that’s the only simple thing. IoT needs some explanation when designing a product, with caveats for product category, power level, operating environment, the technology employed, etc. PowerFilm and Digi International discuss how engineers can make educated determinations and choose the most efficient parts for their IoT design in this webinar.
*PowerFilm portion of the presentation begins at 22:56.
No More Battery Replacements: Vibration and Solar Energy Harvesting for Wireless IoT Devices
- In partnership with Global Spec
In this webinar, PowerFilm and Xidas offer state-of-the-art indoor solar energy and vibration harvesting solutions that can perpetually power electronic devices for 10-plus years, enabling a fit-and-forget system. This webinar provides an overview of energy harvesting solutions, a walkthrough of all factors to consider when integrating energy harvesters, and a review of all actions required to deliver a solution that ultimately never dies.
*PowerFilm portion of the presentation begins at 24:45.
Self Powered IoT With Solar Energy Harvesting
- In partnership with Low Power Technology Summit
President Dan Stieler, Ph.D., discusses the need for energy harvesting, the benefits of thin-film solar, and getting started with a solar energy harvesting solution.
Solar Energy Harvesting For Maintenance Free Sensor Deployment
- In partnership with Sensors Innovation Week
President Dan Stieler, Ph.D., provides an overview of energy harvesting: what is it, why is it needed, and a few applications. He then moves into system components and a comparison of different harvesters. Finally, he discusses solar energy harvesting and how indoors differs from outdoors, expected indoors, differences between solar technologies, and how to get started using energy harvesting.
The End of Disposable Batteries: Solar Energy Harvesting for IoT Devices
- In partnership with Global Spec
Attendees will learn how to characterize device power consumption, form a realistic power budget, and explore the benefits of the AEM10941 power management IC. Attendees will also learn critical electrical, mechanical, and environmental considerations that drive a solar solution and readily available custom options.
Solar/PV Energy Harvesting For IoT Devices
- In partnership with e-peas & F3 Wireless
PowerFilm teamed with e-peas and F3 Wireless, experts in energy harvest power management ICs and RF/IoT design, in this webinar. This webinar will cover what you need to know about developing self-powered sensors and wireless devices. Learn to characterize and choose PV based on the light in your environment, determine the circuitry required to implement a realistic power budget, and choose the right IoT technology for your application.
Real-World Energy Harvesting: Rapid Prototyping with Solar
- In partnership with Sensors Converge
Research and Development Engineer, Sam Jones, discusses how simple prototyping with indoor light energy harvesting can be. It covers the power consumption of standard sensors and wireless devices and how they can be configured to run on ambient light energy. Sam discusses finding the right tools to make prototyping easy and charge circuitry options for final products.
Self-Sustaining IoT Devices
- In partnership with IoT Fuse
Research and Development Engineer, Sam Jones, talks about energy harvesting, why it is vital in the IoT space, and the power you can expect from different energy harvesting methods. He also provides an overview of other techniques, including thermoelectric, piezoelectric, radiofrequency, and photovoltaic, and each method's positive and negative aspects.
Powering IoT by Harvesting Indoor Solar Energy In Low Light Environments
- In partnership with Low Power Conference
Attendees will learn the critical considerations for your system and how we can create custom solutions for your specific IoT power needs. We'll discuss energy storage, integrated circuits, solar technologies, and how to determine power needs for a sensor system in this webinar recording by PowerFilm President Daniel Stieler, Ph.D.
Solar Power For Indoor Sensor Systems
- In partnership with Sensors Converge