Micro Renewable Power System for Lightweight Smart Home Devices in the Net-Zero IoT

Abstract

With the proliferation of the Internet of Things (IoT) over recent years, smart home devices that implement intelligent digital control into people’s daily life have been rapidly growing in popularity. These devices are typically low powered and are either powered directly from the electrical grid or operate using rechargeable batteries. Both of these approaches have some limitations as they either require being hard-wired during an installation or require periodic maintenance to either change or recharge the onboard batteries. In this regard, this paper proposes and documents the design and development of a micro renewable power system that can power smart home IoT devices and achieve the net-zero goal in the operational phase. This is to allow for these lightweight IoT devices to be run solely from a renewable energy source so that they can be run with very low maintenance and with no reliance upon the power grid. The proposed net-zero design utilizes a maximum power point tracking (MPPT) circuit only relying on solar power harvesting, and the resulting prototype is compact and capable of powering lightweight smart home devices consuming 1 watt or less. The proposed micro renewable power system aims to facilitate the implementation of lightweight IoT devices and appliances in sixth generation (6G) communication networks, where energy efficiency and environmental sustainability need to be taken into consideration by design.