Misconceptions in Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting System Development

Abstract

Energy harvesting from wasted or unused power has been a topic of discussion for a long time. We developed ‘damper devices’ for precision machinery and automobile engine mats in the 1980s. However, in the 1990s we realized that electric energy dissipation on its own was useless, and started to accumulate the converted electric energy into a rechargeable battery. Historically, this was the starting point of ‘piezoelectric energy harvesting devices’.