Energy Harvesting Using Piezoelectric Materials

Harvesting Energy is a very interesting area of research in recent times. The depletion in the conventional non renewable energy sources have made researchers to look into new and alternate sources of energy. Walking is one the primary motion of human beings and with each step taken there is some amount of energy which is left behind in form of stray Vibrations. This mechanically wasted form of energy could be converted into electrical ones using piezoelectricity. This work takes a look into the possibility of harvesting such mechanical energy and converting them into the usable electrical form. A simple prototype platform is also developed and tested successfully using Piezo buzzer discs made of PZT. This study gives an simple but effective way to capture energy from human footfalls and by using proper circuitry enabling them to be stored temporarily in a storage device for future usage.