Energy-harvesting wireless switches enable new solutions for home and garden

be installed completely encapsulated and have no mechanical link to the outside world. Therefore they are ideal for harsh weather and operating conditions, e.g. water, cold temperatures or hail which enables completely new product solutions.

The EHS module from CHERRY is working on an inductive basis. The inductive pulse generator transforms the mechanical actuation force into an electrical energy impulse. The actuation of the pulse generator suddenly reverses the magnetic flow in the coil system from which the electrical energy results. The energy impulse contains the electrical energy which is transformed into a constant supply voltage by the energy management. It is also stretched over time, so it can provide the

energy required to send a radio signal with the imparted information. Thanks to the miniature format, the high efficiency in the entire function chain, and the long life of up to 1.000.000 switching cycles, this wireless switch module only requires a very low actuating force and can be designed-in to small spaces without any maintenance.

The product portfolio ranges from a pure generator module through to various encapsulated wireless switch variants. In addition to snap-action and rocker switches, there is also a ready-to-install radio light switch module for the KNX standard available. It can directly be integrated into switches with customized control units or design-parts and requires no gateway. The actuation of the switching unit produces enough electrical energy to transmit a complete KNX-RF protocol directly to any KNX-receiver. The transmitter has a range of 30m inside

buildings (868 MHz band). Variants with double rocker as a two-channel version with full dimming function are already being worked on. Also for other radio standards in home automation like ZigBee Green Power there are already wireless switch modules in development.

A new video illustrates the functionality and applications for building technology:

http://cherryswitches.com/energy-harvesting-applications