Micropelt announced its new Thermogenerator Package (TGP), which makes thermal energy harvesting ready for mass production. The new device allows for automatic assembly of autonomous dc power supplies for ultra low power wireless sensors and actuators. Battery maintenance, so far preventing wireless monitoring sensor networks from really taking off, can be eliminated by TGP-enabled autonomous DC power modules whenever a temperature difference of 5°C or more is available. Output power ranges from 100µW to over 10mW, sufficient to offset most batteries.
Micropelt’s standardized TGP package comes in two flavors, TGP-651 and TGP-751, both types being fully interchangeable. Output power and cost can thus be matched to target applications and markets without any changes to the PCB design. “At lower gradients, between 10 and 40°C, both devices produce very similar power levels, so the TGP-651 with a 6 sqmm TEG is preferable for cost reasons”, explained Dr. Joachim Nurnus, Micropelt’s CTO. "However, for very low gradient operation or high power demand a TGP-751 with its 12 sqmm TEG is the best choice."