Providing Energy Self-Sufficiency to LoRaWAN Nodes by Means of Thermoelectric Generators (TEGs)-Based Energy Harvesting

The aim of this paper is to present the viability of an energy-harvesting system prototype, based on thermoelectric generators (TEGs), to be embedded in a Long-Range Wide Area Network (LoRaWAN)-based wireless sensor node, allowing continuous quasi-real-time data transmission even for low temperature gradients and for frequent transmissions. To this end, an RFM95x LoRa module is used in the system. The energy management of the entire node is achieved by exploiting a nano power boost charger buck converter integrated circuit, which allows power extraction from the energy-harvesting source and, at the same time, regulates the charging/discharging process of a Li-Po battery that supplies the wireless node. The first phase of the project was dedicated to understanding the electrical characteristics of the TEG. A series of tests were performed to study the open circuit voltage, the current and the power generated by the TEG at different temperature gradients. Following this first phase, tests were then set up to study the charging/discharging process of the battery by changing two crucial parameters: the temperature between the faces of the TEG and the frequency of the transmissions performed by the transceiver. Experimental results show a positive balance for the battery charging at different conditions, which suggests two important conclusions: first of all, with high temperature gradients, it is possible to set relatively high transmission frequencies for the LoRaWAN module without discharging the battery. The second important consideration concerns the operation of the system at extremely low temperature gradients, with a minimum of 5 °C reached during one of the measurements. This suggests the usability of thermoelectric energy-harvesting systems in a wide range of possible applications even in conditions of low temperature gradients.