Table of Contents
History
Many people things that wireless power transmission, wireless power transfer, or wireless electricity transfer is the invention of the 20th century. But 100 years, the actual discovery of wireless power transmission happened. Basic of the wireless power transmission told by the British Scientist Faradays, French Physists Ampere in their laws.
Nicola Tesla & his experiment
A famous electrical genius, Nicola Tesla, powered the electrical bulb with the technology of wireless electricity transfer in the 18th century (During the Industrial Revolution).
He experimented with powering an electrical bulb by using a 140-foot tesla coil from more than two miles of distance. Tesla coil is able to generate a very high voltage.
While experimenting, dynamo gets burned off a local power plant & entire village of Colorado get to suffer from a power cut.
The dream of Nicola Tesla is to power the world with the help of wireless power transfer. It is by placing big tesla coils in the various points of the country of the world and transferring electricity without using any electrical devices in between.
What is Wireless Power Transmission & how it works?
Watch This- How wireless transfer works?
Wireless power transmission is the process of electricity transmission without using wires as a medium. A transmitter device is a transmitter that takes electrical power from an electric source & generates a time-varying electromagnetic field.
This electromagnetic power is transferred across the space inline to the receiver device. The function of the receiver device is to extract electric power transmitted by the transmitter & supply it to the electrical load.
Two categories of Wireless Power Transmission
Wireless Power Transmission falls under two categories. One is near the field & the other is far-field. Let’s discuss them one by one.
Near Field
In this wireless electricity transmission, electric power transfer takes place by the magnetic field between coils for a short distance by using inductive coupling.
The best example of inductive coupling is wireless mobile charging. In this charging process, the mobile is placed on the charging station. Once the switch turns on, the automatic mobile starts charging.
The transmitter is part of the charger & the receiver is a part of the mobile. So, charging takes place. Other examples are Induction cooking, wireless power transmission in medical devices & electric vehicles.
In the near field, the transfer of electric power takes place by the electric field using capacitive coupling between metal electrodes. The use of this concept is for very few applications. Because the electric field is strongly reacting with most of the materials.
Also, it will react with the human body too. The high voltage produced at electrode ends may cause hazards.
The disadvantage of this system is that, as the distance of the receiver goes on increasing from the transmitter, electricity transmission becomes lesser.
Far-field
Far-field power transmission is known as power beaming. In this technique, the transfer of electrical power takes place in the form of electromagnetic radiation.
This electromagnetic radiation is beamed in the direction of the receiver like a laser beam. With the help of this technology, electricity is getting transferred for a long distance without any medium.
Wireless drone aircraft & solar satellites are a few examples of far-field wireless power transmission.
Trial on the first Wireless Power Transfer by New Zealand
New Zealand-based start-up EMROD has developed an alternative to copper line technology for electricity transmission. They have developed the first long-range, high-power wireless power transfer technology.
By taking advantage of wireless electricity transmission, Powerco is investing in the project of the EMROD, which is the second-largest electricity distributor in New Zealand.
Currently, EMROD is working on the prototype of the wireless power transmission, which is capable of delivering a few watts of electricity.
Also, they gave assurance to scale up electricity transmission and transmit 100 times more electricity with the same technology over a longer distance.
EMROD is doing lab testing on his new prototype for Powerco before moving to the field trial.
Advantages of Wireless Electricity Transmission
1-With the use of wireless electricity transmission technology, the use of electronics & electrical parts like distribution wires, towers, transformers, substations & many more required in between electricity transfers will get reduced.
2-With the use of Wireless Power Transmission technology, the cost of electricity will reduce.
3-There will not be any electricity loss. Because no wires are in use to transfer electricity.
4-There will be no reasons for power failure like a short circuit or fault on cables.
