The Business Case for Reliable Energy Harvesting in Industrial Applications

The Business Case for Reliable Energy Harvesting in Industrial Applications

Business professionals are feeling the gravity of rising energy prices and the financial losses from wasted resources. As electricity needs rise with disruptive technologies like artificial intelligence and growing consumer demands promote faster production, harnessing as much internal energy as possible is required for long-term stability.

Energy harvesting could be the answer facilities need to stabilize ballooning utility costs, while embracing innovative solutions for a decarbonized future.

An Overview of Energy Harvesting

The implementation of energy harvesting varies across sectors. However, they all have the same purpose. These tools and workflow techniques encourage the capture of otherwise wasted ambient energy. From industrial water heaters to CNC machines, every asset generates light, heat and other forms of energy. For decades, it has become normal not to capitalize on these existing energy resources.

Now, industrial settings must use what they create for further processing. For example, electrification has caused teams to start using small, handheld tools that need frequent charging. Instead of pulling from the national grid, residual heat from metal presses can be redirected to batteries to keep these devices running.

Smart devices, such as sensors, and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) can measure environments to identify the most significant energy-harvesting opportunities.

Businesses can then repurpose these invisible energy sources to cut costs and reduce environmental waste for essential tasks. Imagine how sensors can constantly observe the performance of a production line motor, capturing piezoelectric energy while noticing any declines in the equipment’s performance.

This closed-loop model also benefits facilities by promoting more sustainable operations and compliance with frameworks like LEED, while boosting their awareness of other eco-conscious initiatives, such as predictive maintenance solutions and process monitoring.

Techniques for Implementing Energy Harvesting in Industrial Settings

Industry experts have spent years developing numerous energy-harvesting technologies to make the most of a facility’s assets. Many are interoperable with IIoT devices, external batteries or renewable energy generators. Additionally, energy-capturing tools can harness power from even the most hazardous locations, capitalizing on every corner of the facility.

Finally, teams can reduce their reliance on conventional utilities to achieve energy independence using these methods.

Using Power From Vibrations With Piezoelectric Energy

Many materials generate electricity when they experience mechanical stress. A watch manufacturer will notice this when working with quartz, and a medical device manufacturer will see it when producing electronics that leverage piezoceramics. Some case studies have even explored the applications of flooring that captures the piezoelectricity generated from the workforce’s footsteps.

Every mechanical movement, from a turbine’s rotation to a motor’s vibrations, is a chance to harvest power. Smart sensors can continuously monitor vibration signatures to determine how much energy each device can generate. This data can feed AI-powered predictive maintenance software, informing technicians when pressure and vibration are anomalous, reducing downtime and parts replacement costs.

Turning Waste Heat Into Watts With Thermoelectric Energy

At least 3,100 terawatt-hours of usable heat is wasted in industrial applications, including steel and power generation. Thermoelectric generators are among the foremost solutions for utilizing this untapped source. They function by measuring temperature and environmental variances, producing voltages. If the generator is attached to a hot surface, such as a pipe or furnace, it can use ambient air gradients to power smaller, nearby technologies, such as sensors or actuators.

Research exploring its feasibility proves that different materials and configurations impact its generative potential. However, when properly implemented, minimizing runaway heat from this essential infrastructure can lower temperatures around the facility, reduce air conditioning needs and potentially improve indoor air quality.

Harnessing Light as a Potent Power Source With Photovoltaic Energy

When investing in photovoltaic solutions, most organizations choose solar panels to capture sunlight. However, there are many opportunities to capture light from within, including heavy-duty artificial lighting.

Even businesses that have switched to more energy-efficient and cost-effective LED lighting still have plenty of light to use. Connecting small panels to nearby flood and high-bay lights can power many purposes throughout a building, including automatic doors or electronic measurement tools.

Additional Energy Harvesting Opportunities

While thermal, pressurized and photovoltaic power are the most apparent sources of industrial energy to use, other energy harvesting avenues may go overlooked, including:

• Electrodynamic energy: This uses induction from fixtures such as coils to capture magnetic energy, especially from rotating devices common in large legacy machinery.

• Radio frequencies: With digital transformation and the IIoT, Wi-Fi, cellular and radio broadcasts are only a few sources of constant ambient waves, and energy harvesters can make them compatible with DC power.
• Pyroelectrics: Instead of requiring a gradient, pyroelectrics generates voltages from spontaneous temperature changes, which is ideal for equipment like HVAC systems that experience frequent power fluctuations.

The benefits of these alternatives and the most common energy harvesters are apparent. They take advantage of the volatility of industrial devices, which can sometimes produce immense power in short bursts or constant ambient releases.

Capitalizing on various types of wasted heat and other excess power can help offset financial losses while enabling novel technologies like the IIoT to operate with less environmental impact and fewer consumptive peripherals, such as batteries.

Case Studies Paving the Path Forward

Several companies have already integrated energy harvesting into their industrial energy strategy. These examples represent the innovation required to decarbonize, refine budgets and create an efficient facility.

Steam Trap Monitoring

In 2020, facilities began incorporating sensors to replace expensive and sometimes unnecessary audits of steam traps. Using energy harvesting with these devices reduces overall expenses and enables continuous monitoring of these consumptive assets.

Rocket Launch Subsystems

A recent NASA-funded effort investigated the energy-harvesting potential of the intense temperatures in subsystems, using piezoelectrics. The experiment proved it was viable for expanding remote monitoring functionality for aerospace and industrial businesses.

Remote Gas Wellhead Control Systems

An oil refinery tested the efficacy of thermoelectric generators to power IIoT devices, enabling it to reduce its reliance on batteries. It successfully performed condition monitoring of rotating equipment, boosting safety and maintenance efficiency.

Water Pump Monitoring

In 2020, a company successfully incorporated vibration energy harvesting into water pumps, using self-powered sensors that outcompete batteries.

These are only a few examples of industrial energy-harvesting projects that have set new precedents for operations.

The Need for Circular Industrial Energy Solutions

Energy harvesting offers industrial enterprises additional benefits beyond financial savings. Carbon reductions are a powerful marker of an innovator across all sectors. Additionally, the complementary technologies required to implement these solutions, such as the IIoT, encourage greater transparency and data visibility across organizations.

These resources are indispensable for understanding a facility’s energetic profile and the productivity of its most energy-hungry assets. They enable companies to undergo process discovery with intention and clarity.

Lou Farrell

Lou, a Senior Editor at Revolutionized, has specialized in covering Technology, Manufacturing, and Transportation topics for several years. He loves to write, and enjoys being able to share his knowledge with others however he can.