First study on harvesting electromagnetic noise energy generated by the frequency converters

This paper proposes a novel environmental energy harvesting process. The source of energy consists of the electromagnetic (EM) noise emitted by the frequency converter system (inverter) and the harvester is composed by a monopole antenna and a full rectifier circuit. The operation of the frequency converter using MOSFET and IGBT switchers produces parasite currents in high frequency (100 KHz to 30 MHz) which are the principal cause of radiated EM noise. We have demonstrated that we can convert this EM noise into useful electrical energy to power wireless sensor nodes (WSNs) and other electronic devices. Experimentally, the EM noise is produced when the system “frequency converter + charge” is in operation mode. Moreover, the harvester has produced an uninterrupted power of 40 mW measured in accredited ISO/IEC 17025 laboratory. Furthermore, we have presented the output power of our device stored in 1 µF capacitor with demonstration examples of loading charges. These results offer opportunities for self-powered WSNs and electronic devices on a very large area of industrial applications with less use of conventional batteries.