Energy harvesting system using footsteps Dale Emmanuel C. Llagas... [et. al]

Thesis (Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering) -- University of Rizal System-Morong.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: This study entitled Energy Harvesting Device using footsteps was conducted primarily to harvest energy from footsteps' pressure using piezoelectric sensor during the school year 2016-2017. It aimed to develop a prototype device to harvest energy through footsteps using locally available materials. The study made use of the developmental and experimental methods of research since this focused to come up with an Energy Harvesting System Using Footsteps. To determine the level of acceptability of the developed system in terms of design, efficiency, cost and maintenance, durability, eco-friendliness, functionality, a questionnaire checklist was administered to the experts and student-respondents. There were ten (10) experts in the field of engineering and fifteen (15) engineering students who were considered as respondents to evaluate the device. To answer the research objectives, design, efficiency, cost and maintenance, durability, eco-friendliness and functionality was used as statistical tools. The researchers used multimeter to test the voltage and current of every foot strike to the device for them to compute the watts produced during the testing. The harvested by the device was used to a lightning system and USB charging device requiring small amount of energy. Findings revealed that piezoelectric sensors that available in the local market used in project design can produce an average of 30V AC and 1mA that can be converted by the system to DC for future uses. Findings also revealed that the energy harvesting using footsteps was evaluated by the experts and students with respect to design, efficiency, cost and maintenance, durability, eco-friendliness, and functionality as Highly Acceptable. Furthermore, based from the findings, the study concluded that the Energy Harvesting System can be a good source of alternative energy that can be used to low-powered applications.