What is Microsourcing?
Harvesting Energy from the Ambient Environment
Introduction
Humans have always sought out better ways of doing things in order to live easier lives, ideally with less workload and greater freedom.
One of the more profound advances in technology is the harnessing of electricity and the ability to convert to and from other media such as light or kinetic motion.
While most of the power we use comes from utility companies, the use of small power-generating devices such as solar panels has been steadily on the rise for years. The advantage is clear: the electricity is produced and consumed locally on site, without the need for large generators, substations, transformers, and transmission lines.
This can be more efficient than using grid electricity for some applications, such as in residential areas with relatively low power requirements that can be met largely with local means or even sold to the power company, or rural locations which may be difficult to reach with transmission lines.
Scaling Down
In contrast to generating and transmitting large amounts of power with huge pieces of equipment, microsourcing is the process of gathering small amounts of power locally from devices that can be easily deployed or installed and will (ideally) produce output indefinitely, with fewer components and therefore less maintenance required.
Microsourcing technologies can range from tiny piezoelectric transducers to locally-installed solar arrays. These systems may be expensive up-front but they begin to pay for themselves quickly, and they provide freedom to be less reliant upon the grid (or even the opportunity to contribute back to the grid with excess energy).
Examples of Microsourcing
The many ways in which electricity can be generated and stored are infinite, limited only by imagination and creativity.
Examples of sources and technologies used include:
- Acoustic Energy Harvesting
- RF Power Harvesting
- Thermionic Emission
- Indoor Ambient Light
- Portable Solar Panels
These technologies and others can be combined and used in numerous ways to achieve the desired results depending on the requirements and physical characteristics of the operating environment.
The Future
As applications of these technologies become more readily available, more opportunities will become open to the public for taking control of meeting energy requirements from a local perspective, in addition to being able to give back to the community in the form of excess power that can be used at peak times or when grid generating equipment is temporarily unavailable.
