Abstract
This paper reviews energy storage systems, in general, and for specific applications in low-cost micro-energy harvesting (MEH) systems, low-cost microelectronic devices, and wireless sensor networks (WSNs). With the development of electronic gadgets, low-cost microelectronic devices and WSNs, the need for an efficient, light and reliable energy storage device is increased. The current energy storage systems (ESS) have the disadvantages of self-discharging, energy density, life cycles, and cost. The ambient energy resources are the best option as an energy source, but the main challenge in harvesting energy from ambient sources is the instability of the source of energy. Due to the explosion of lithium batteries in many cases, and the pros associated with them, the design of an efficient device, which is more reliable and efficient than conventional batteries, is important. This review paper focused on the issues of the reliability and performance of electrical ESS, and, especially, discussed the technical challenges and suggested solutions for ESS (batteries, supercapacitors, and for a hybrid combination of supercapacitors and batteries) in detail. Nowadays, the main market of batteries is WSNs, but in the last decade, the world’s attention has turned toward supercapacitors as a good alternative of batteries. The main advantages of supercapacitors are their light weight, volume, greater life cycle, turbo charging/discharging, high energy density and power density, low cost, easy maintenance, and no pollution. This study reviews supercapacitors as a better alternative of batteries in low-cost electronic devices, WSNs, and MEH systems.
Highlights
Electrical energy is so important in our life, in such a way that our lives totally depend on it
The conventional electronic devices are converted into portable electronic devices, wireless sensor networks (WSNs), and micro-energy harvesting (MEH) systems
The power is generated by different techniques and resources, either by renewable or nonrenewable resources, but the main problem is the generation of low-cost electrical power and the design of an energy storage device that overcomes the problems that are associated with traditional batteries
Summary
Electrical energy is so important in our life, in such a way that our lives totally depend on it. Electrical energy gives a faster life to everyone, i.e., fast manufacturing in industries, faster transport, and faster communication All of these things have increased the demand for low-cost micro-electronic devices [1,2]. With the design of low-powered circuits, the energy required for these networks is reduced considerably [6] In spite of these developments, conventional batteries are still used as energy storage devices. The power is generated by different techniques and resources, either by renewable or nonrenewable resources, but the main problem is the generation of low-cost electrical power and the design of an energy storage device that overcomes the problems that are associated with traditional batteries (self-discharging, loss of electrolyte, nickel gets stuck by hazards and burns faster, etc.). One of the important low-cost MEH is piezoelectric energy harvesting, which converts vibrational energy into electrical energy [25,26,27]
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