Online ISSN: 2515-8260

Temperature Gradient Measuring System Development Using Wireless Sensor Networks For Detection Of Ambient Air And Soil

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Ramizi MOHAMED1 , Heng Joe KEEN2 , Khalil Azha MOHD ANNUAR3 , Nor Azwan MOHAMED KAMARI

Abstract

This paper proposes a concept utilizing a thermoelectric generator (TEG) device to convert thermal energy different between ambient air and soil into electrical power. In this study, soil temperature profile with three various depths has been studied to find the optimum depth for maximum temperature differences between ambient air and the soil. The study area coverage is at the lake nearby Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Bangi Malaysia. After the temperature data collected, the efficiency of TEG with different configurations was tested in the lab. Then, energy storage devices and buck-booster are used to further enhance the capabilities of TEG. All the models are then integrated and tested to power up electronics load according to the temperature profile collected. The results have proposed the depth of soil 20 cm will provide an optimal average temperature different of 3.34 0C. Based on the temperature gradient data, combination of four TEG TEP-12656 in a series connection with DC booster circuitDC1587 will produce an optimum voltage output about 3 V. This output voltage is enough to fully charges small storage system such as super capacitors 10 F in 6.58 minutes. Arduino Uno was used as a load and it was successfully powered up for a short duration of time before energy fully depleted.

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