In the 22 months of operation at the Albuquerque, New Mexico substation, the eight EnerPak™ power supplies, each powered
by a small photovoltaic array, have performed reliably and consistently. In fact, each of the power supplies and sensors
have been operational continuously since the trial began.
In addition to traditional product testing, real-world field-evaluation such as this continues to demonstrate the
long-term performance of the EnerPak™ supercapacitor-battery power management system and the TI MSP430 microcontroller.
The sensor network includes both a sensor node-to-sensor node wireless communications capability as well as wireless
transmission of data to a central gateway processing station. During the trial, the EnerPak™ systems have experienced
heavy rain, strong winds and dust, and snow. Summer temperatures have approached 100ºF, with winter temperatures as low
5ºF.
The utility engineer responsible for the development of the SF6 monitoring system praised the performance of EnerPak™,
stating that it continues to meet all of the powering requirements demanded by the sensor network. Because of the costs
associated with the replacement of conventional batteries, he added that the use of wireless sensor networks have a
critical need for a long-term power management solution like EnerPak™.
The EnerPak™ optimizes the combined performance of supercapacitors and rechargeable batteries to deliver the best power
management for autonomous devices like industrial sensors, wireless gateways and video surveillance. Through a unique
microprocessor/charge pump configuration, the harvested energy is either used by the sensor or efficiently stored for
later use. The supercapacitors provide extremely efficient pulse power. The rechargeable battery, because of its high
energy density, serves as the primary energy storage source, acting as a reserve when the energy harvesting source is not
able to provide enough system power.
Built around the ultra-low power Texas Instruments MSP430 micro-controller unit, the EnerPak™ can consume as little as
5-8uA, delivering the most harvested energy for the application load. The system is capable of extracting energy from a
variety of energy harvesting devices such as photovoltaic arrays, thermoelectric generators, vibration harvesters, and
other generator devices.
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Physical Acoustics, Inc., Princeton, NJ, a part of the Mistras Group, licensed the SF6 monitoring technology from the
electrical utility. They recently deployed their first commercial product incorporating this monitoring capability in a
New York utility location as a beta test site. While the beta monitoring package is utilizing a heavy-duty package of
conventional batteries as its power supply, Physical Acoustics will evaluate the need for energy-harvesting and the EnerPak
in their second generation SF6 monitoring product line.
TI Enables Innovation with Broad Range of Microcontrollers
From ultra-low power 16-bit microcontrollers in the MSP430 platform to industry standard 32-bit microcontrollers and
the high performance TMS320C2000TM controller platform, TI offers the broadest range of embedded control solutions.
Designers can accelerate their designs to market by tapping into TI's complete free software and low cost hardware tools,
extensive third-party offerings and technical support. For more information on TI's controllers, see TI's website.
TPL's EnerPak™
TPL designs, develops and manufactures innovative power systems for wireless sensors. Our EnerPak™ products uniquely
realize the potential of energy harvesting systems for meeting the power needs of wireless sensors. Our design uses
energy harvesters to provide continuous low-level power while simultaneously charging proprietary energy storage systems
that provide back-up and pulse power capabilities.
For further information please contact Trista Mosman at 505.342.4439 or via email.
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