Multistage Complex-Impedance Matching Network Analysis and Optimization

Some systems like RF energy harvesters have power transfer efficiency as one of the most important specifications. Therefore, the efficiency of the matching network, which affects the entire system’s efficiency, plays an important role. When the impedance transformation factor between the antenna and its load is high, the matching network...

An integrated control-oriented modelling for HVAC performance benchmarking

Energy efficiency in building heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment requires the development of accurate models for testing HVAC control strategies and corresponding energy consumption. In order to make the HVAC control synthesis computationally affordable, such control-oriented models are typically a simplified version...

A 30 ppm < 80 nJ Ring-Down-Based Readout Circuit for Resonant Sensors

This paper presents an energy-efficient readout circuit for micro-machined resonant sensors. It operates by briefly exciting the sensor at a frequency close to its resonance frequency, after which resonance frequency and quality factor are determined from a single ring-down transient. The circuit employs an inverter-based trans-impedance...

Insight in actual energy use in houses as a basis for energy performance contracting

Energy performance contracting is based on the idea that the investments for the improvements of the energy performance of a building through better insulation and more efficient installations will be covered by the savings of the use of energy in the use phase. The external contractor takes care of all the investments costs and guarantees the...

A CMOS temperature sensor with a voltage-calibrated inaccuracy of ±0.15°C (3σ) from -55 to 125°C

This paper describes an energy-efficient CMOS temperature sensor intended for use in RFID tags. The sensor achieves an inaccuracy of ±0.15°C (3σ) over the military temperature range (-55 to 125°C) and dissipates only 27nJ/conversion: over 20× less than a previous sensor with comparable accuracy and resolution [2]. This energy efficiency is...

Energy efficient walking with central pattern generators: From passive dynamic walking to biologically inspired control

Like human walking, passive dynamic walking—i.e. walking down a slope with no actuation except gravity—is energy efficient by exploiting the natural dynamics. In the animal world, neural oscillators termed central pattern generators (CPGs) provide the basic rhythm for muscular activity in locomotion. We present a CPG model, which automatically...