Exploring the Limitations of Electric Field Energy Harvesting

Abstract

Energy harvesting systems are key elements for the widespread deployment of wireless sensor nodes. Although many energy harvesting systems exist, electric field energy harvesting is a promising choice because it can provide uninterrupted power regardless of external conditions and depends only on the presence of AC voltage in the grid, regardless of the magnitude of the line current, even under no-load conditions. However, it also has some disadvantages, such as low power availability, the need for storage, or reliance on capacitive coupling, which is a complex phenomenon that depends on parasitic capacitances. This paper aims to provide useful and practical information on the possibilities of electric field energy harvesting for both high- and low-voltage applications. Since the objective of this paper is to quantify the physical limit of the harvested energy, it considers only the physical harvester itself and not the electronic circuitry required to transfer the harvested energy to the load. Theoretical, simulation, and experimental results show the feasibility of this energy source for low-power applications such as wireless sensor nodes.