Silvertel lights the way in Energy Harvesting - Ag103 Energy Harvesting

There are many modern trends in electronics such as developments for the IOT, but energy harvesting is another key area for technological innovation and product development. The push towards renewable energy is moving away from simple large scale mains electricity generation sources such as wind farms, to small scale local and off-grid applications. Silvertel has been very active in both the IOT and energy harvesting fields in recent months with further plans for complementary developments in the future.

For example, solar power compatibility has long been an issue with the existing Silvertel Ag102 sealed lead acid (SLA) battery chargers. With the push towards more use of renewable energy, Ag103 was designed to fill this solar panel input compatibility gap in the Silvertel battery charger range.

Applications like roadside speed signs; remote, outdoor and emergency lighting systems; standalone secure access enclosures (e.g. for bicycles); IOT remote sensor systems and security cameras all require a reliable source of power or back up. As these applications become more commonplace, a simple solution for charging solar batteries while maximising both the available power from the solar panels and the battery lifetime through intelligent charging techniques, is required. Ag103 has been specifically designed for use with Solar Panels in the range from 5W to 50W output power to charge compatible Solar Batteries* of capacity from 1.2Ah up to a maximum of 28Ah. With a host of features including Maximum Power Point Tracking to fully capitalise on the available energy from the Solar Panel, deep discharge protection and multi stage charging including adaptive initial bulk charge for speedy charging, Ag103 is a perfect and easy to integrate solution for energy harvesting solar power while maximising solar battery lifetime and minimising charge times.

An example energy harvesting, home or commercial lighting system using DC power distribution and Silvertel modules:

This application diagram shows how the Ag103 could be used to help source back-up power when linked to a solar panel, as part of a modern Low Voltage power distribution system, an example of a complete lighting system, including emergency lighting, with solar power back up, plus sensors and controls, incorporating low voltage DC distribution. This includes several of Silvertel’s latest and planned developments, as part of a roadmap to produce a linked module set for energy harvesting and the IOT. Low voltage power distribution systems are another growing trend to improve safety and allow easy integration of back-up power and lighting systems, while allowing a single efficient centralised point for AC-DC conversion. >Ag104 is being designed to take over where Ag103 finishes, in the 0 to 5W power range. Ag104 will be perfect for low power devices for example, making use of low level and ambient light to charge a local battery or super capacitor to power home automation sensors and switches for example in lighting systems. Ag201 has been designed to meet the requirements of the new trends for low voltage power distribution in lighting systems, with maximum flexibility in terms of input and output voltage and multiple programmable settings for the constant current output.

More details on all these new developments can be found on the Silvertel web site, or by contacting your local distributor. Ag201, Ag103 and Ag7100 are released, with full datasheets available already. Ag104 is still in development.