DFM8001 Ambient Energy Harvesting Module for Indoor IoT Battery-free Devices

The DFM8001 Ambient Energy Harvesting Module is a compact power management board designed for battery-free indoor IoT devices and low-power sensor nodes. It captures microwatt-level energy from ambient light, thermal, mechanical, and radio frequency sources to run electronics or charge storage elements. It is an ideal solution for makers, educators, and engineers building self-sustaining, maintenance-free embedded systems.

Multi-source ambient energy capture

The module collects energy from diverse weak ambient sources, including mechanical vibration, thermal gradients, RF signals, and indoor lighting. It is optimised for low-light photovoltaic cells such as amorphous silicon, dye-sensitised, and organic panels.

Dynamic maximum power point tracking

An onboard dynamic MPPT controller samples input sources five times per second to maximise harvesting efficiency. It provides adjustable MPPT tracking ratios of 70%, 75%, 85%, and 90% to suit different transducers.

Ultra-low voltage cold start

Engineered for microwatt-level operation, the harvester requires an initial cold-start input of at least 400 mV at 15 uW. After starting, it maintains continuous operation down to 150 mV across an input range of 150 mV to 5 V.

Dual regulated LDO power outputs

The module provides two independently switched regulated outputs to drive connected microcontrollers and sensors. These include a low-voltage channel supplying 1.2 V to 1.8 V at 20 mA and a high-voltage channel providing 1.8 V to 4.1 V at 80 mA.

Integrated energy storage management

Built-in protection circuitry supports supercapacitors, rechargeable batteries, and primary backup cells. It features adjustable overcharge protection from 2.7 V to 4.5 V, overdischarge protection from 2.2 V to 3.6 V, a low-battery alert, and an LDO status output.

Compact form factor for IoT nodes

Measuring just 15 x 15 x 3.5 mm, the module fits easily into space-constrained enclosures. It is well suited for self-powered IoT nodes, smart home sensors, industrial monitoring devices, and asset trackers.

Downloads & documentation

• Product wiki (DFRobot)