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ABSTRACT
Scavenging energy from ambient sources, such as precipitation, which is a freely available source that primarily takes the form of raindrops, has drawn more attention in recent years. Since solar energy is unavailable during rainfall, a mechanism for haversting power from rainfall is desirable. This project explores the potential of harvesting electrical energy from falling raindrops using piezoelectric transducers. For this study, a water droplet impact harvester made of an off-the-shelf piezoelectric transducer with Polyvinylidene Difluoride (PVDF) polymer film was used. A series-parallel configuration of 40 piezoelectric transducers arranged in a 10x8 array was used to convert the kinetic energy of falling raindrops into electrical energy. The electrical energy generated was then rectified and stored in a battery using a dc-dc converter, auy1006-r, voltage sensor, and capacitor. The performance of the system was evaluated under varying rainfall intensities and durations. The results showed that the system was able to generate a maximum power output of 25.6W under heavy rainfall for a duration of 15mins and 46.2W under the shower head, indKicating its potential as a renewable energy source.
