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Can we harvest energy at earth ground? so that this will suffice or support my planned earth's energy harvester

shabaz · Answer

You can convert energy from pretty much anywhere into (say) electricity. A small solar cell placed on the ground for example. It's not really free though, since there is a cost involved to make the item (e.g. solar panel). I believe, (I could be wrong) energy harvesting is not really concerned with reducing cost to 'free', but more to do with getting energy where it is impractical or unfeasible to connect to mains or a battery that needs replacement/maintenance. The mains power consumption of a low power device could cost less than a dollar for the entire lifetime of the product, whereas a small solar cell may cost more. It's the practicality of it that drives energy harvesting.

jw0752 · Answer

Hi Kaymart, Voltages can be converted using circuits and transformers but there is always a loss of energy as heat (2nd law of thermodynamics) and the voltage doesn't define the amount of energy that you have. The amount of energy is the voltage multiplied by the current in Amps. This means that any conversion from one voltage to a higher voltage results in a proportional drop in current so that the final energy plus the energy lost in the conversion is equal to the original energy. Nature is the ultimate book keeper and makes certain that we don't get any energy for free. John

jw0752 · Answer

Hi Kaymart, Check out this blog by Karen. It has a simple circuit for harvesting the residual power in a battery that is so dead it will not run a clock. This circuit can use the battery right down to about half a volt. https://www.element14.com/community/docs/DOC-91448/l/the-learning-circuit-39-inductor-project-battery-juicer You can also search a circuit called the "Joule Thief". John

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