Heena T. Shaikh,
IR. Kazi Kutubuddin Sayyad Liyakat,
- Assistant Professor, Department of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering, Brahmdevdada Mane Institute of Technology, Solapur, Maharashtra, India
- Professor and Head, Department of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering, Brahmdevdada Mane Institute of Technology, Solapur, Maharashtra, India
Abstract
The rapid proliferation of wireless-networked devices has intensified the demand for sustainable, maintenance-free power sources that can keep small-scale Wi-Fi modules operational in hard-to-reach or infrastructure-limited environments. This study investigates the feasibility of harvesting ambient mechanical energy using piezoelectric transduction technology and directly feeding the harvested power to a low-power Wi-Fi communication subsystem. A compact energy-harvesting module was engineered from lead-zirconate-titanate (PZT) cantilevers with resonant frequencies tuned to the dominant vibration spectra encountered in indoor office settings (≈ 20–80 Hz). The harvested alternating-current (AC) signal was conditioned by a synchronous-rectifier-based power-management integrated circuit (PMIC) that delivers a regulated 3.3 V DC rail. The Wi-Fi transmitter, implemented on an ESP-32 platform and operated in a duty-cycled “beacon-only” mode, consumes an average of 120 µW during active transmission bursts of 5 ms at 100 ms intervals. Laboratory tests demonstrate that a single PZT cantilever, exposed to a modest 0.5 g vibration amplitude, can generate up to 250 µW, enough to sustain the transmitter indefinitely under the chosen duty cycle. Field trials in an office corridor and a subway platform confirm stable operation over 48 h with no external power input, while the harvested energy simultaneously powers a miniature environmental-sensing node. These results validate piezoelectric harvesting as a viable, self-sufficient energy source for low-throughput Wi-Fi IoT devices, opening a pathway toward truly battery-free wireless sensor networks.
Keywords: Battery, energy, energy harvesting, harvesting, piezoelectric material, Wi-Fi
[This article belongs to International Journal of Electro-Mechanics and Material Behaviour ]
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| Volume | 04 | |
| Issue | 01 | |
| Received | 19/03/2026 | |
| Accepted | 20/03/2026 | |
| Published | 10/04/2026 | |
| Publication Time | 22 Days |