1

Abstract
The bulk of electric power loss in Nigeria and Africa as whole has been traced to the
transmission segment of the national grid. Human influences on the transmission lines such as
vandalism, theft, natural phenomenon and environmental disturbances culminated to the poor
performance of this system. To settle some of this challenges, The wireless power transfer
(WPT) might be the answer. Wireless power transfer is a new and emerging technology where
electrical energy is transferred from generation point through the transmission links to the
distribution point to loads and appliances through the air space without connection to cables and
wires.The emergence of this technology heralded by the advance and ubiquity in semiconductor
technology is making a huge wave of transformation in the electrical engineering domain and
can be adopted in the power sector globally.The wireless power transfer (WPT) system is used
for the transmission of energy without a direct physical cable connection, which is useful to
power loads where using cables is hazardous and inconvenient. The hardware requirements of
wireless power transfer include HF-Transformer,HF-diodes, rectifier, basic Transistors, Two air
filled inductor coils, Voltage regulator and BLDC fan. Wireless power transfer (WPT) can be
used either to directly power the device such as LED lights or a TV and to recharge a battery
such as a mobile phone by simply placing it on aboard. Communication between medical devices
implanted in the human body and external equipment has long been known. Nigeria can be
lighten up by engaging Wireless Power transmission technology. The percentage energy losses
can be avertedly engaged for useful application to the benefits of all.
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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

The bulk of electric power loss in Nigeria and Africa as whole has been traced to the

transmission segment of the national grid. While out of 180million people in the country, only

about 40% of this have access to a constant interrupted supply of Electricity, majority of the

citizens in the remote areas are cut off from the national grid. A lot of technical challenges are

confronting this network system of the power chain. Human influences on the transmission lines

such as vandalism, theft, natural phenomenon and environmental disturbances culminated to the

poor performance of this system. To settle some of this challenges, The wireless power transfer

(WPT) might be the answer.

The wireless power transfer (WPT) system is used for the transmission of energy without a direct

physical cable connection, which is useful to power loads where using cables is hazardous and

inconvenient (Karalis et al., 2017).

Wireless power transfer (WPT) technology becoming a reality has meant electrical power can be

transferred over a range without physical contact. In recent times, the amount of energy required

for many computing tasks is continuously decreasing, leading to low-power devices such as IoT

devices, which in turn justifies the demand for wireless power transmission for uninterrupted

operation. Thus, WPT has become a stable for applications in areas such as electric vehicles,

unmanned aerial vehicles, biomedical implants, consumer electronics, and household appliances.

WPT is the answer to the issue presented by the short battery life and high initial cost of battery

powered applications. The breakthrough of energy storage technology is unable to support the

new generation of applications. Thus, WPT techniques have been increasingly investigated to
 3

overcome the technical bottlenecks of batteries. However, the design of WPT imposes numerous

challenges (Julia et al., 2008). Considering WPT for low power applications such as bio-

implantable systems, miniaturization and maximum efficiency of power transfer at low specific

absorption rate (SAR) is the prime focus. However, in applications such as enhancing the

operating lifetime of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), smart WPT techniques are

required to reduce the battery burden. In the case of simultaneous wireless data transmission and

power transfer, the best use of the radio frequency spectrum is required. To enhance the gain and

efficiency WPT, the design of antennas and passive reflect array is a challenging task (Sambo et

al., 2018).

WPT has a number of features such as flexibility, formfactor, position free, and movability that

are considered an ideal choice for future power requirements. Through this Special Issue, experts

and researchers in industry and academia are invited to submit their original research and review

articles discussing innovative ideas for the design and applications of WPT systems.

The magnetic resonant coupling wireless power transfer (MRCWPT) system has relatively high

transfer efficiency over relatively long distances, and the MRCWPT system has gained lots of

attention. And the MRCWPT system is much promising in the field of charging which has been

applied in potential applications such as medical implants, electric vehicle charging, sensor

networks and consumer electronics (Low, et al., 2009).

At present, many researchers proposed MRCWPT systems to further enhance PTE and extend

the distance of the system. A kind of method by adding relay resonators is proposed in. It is

obvious that the distance and PTE of the system are extended. Intermediate resonators arranged

between the transmitter and the receiver are used to transmit the magnetic field. This method is
 4

used to improve PTE of the system to maximize the benefits of magnetic field repeaters (Low, et

al., 2009). Some MRCWPT systems with repeaters and metamaterial are analyzed for

applications in. The analysis shows that PTE of MRCWPT systems with repeaters and

metamaterial is improved in different ways. Metamaterial can provide the MRCWPT system

with various tunable functions. And the MRCWPT system with nonidentical coils using

metamaterial is proposed in. However, further investigation should be carried out about

MRCWPT systems using metamaterial to improve the PTE and the distance. Investigations

about the metamaterial is mainly on the far field, but the metamaterial used in the MRCWPT

system on near field is lacking. Recently, some MRCWPT systems using metamateial are

reported in. This paper aims to discuss wireless power transfer and the importance of its

implementation in Nigeria.
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CHAPTER TWO

HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS OF WIRELESS POWER TRANSFER

The hardware requirements of wireless power transfer include HF-Transformer, HF-diodes,

rectifier, basic Transistors, Two air filled inductor coils, Voltage regulator and BLDC fan.

Figure 1: Wireless Power Transfer Block Diagram (Sule, 2010).

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2.1 High frequency (HF) transformers

Figure 2. High frequency (HF) transformers

High frequency (HF) transformers transfer electric power and the physical size are reliant on the

power to be transformed as well as the operating frequency. The emf equation of universal

transformer indicates that at a higher frequency, the core flux density will be lower for a given

voltage. This implies that a core can have a smaller cross-sectional area (Elusakin et al., 2014)

2.2 Voltage Regulator

A voltage regulator is an electrical regulator, designed to maintain a constant level voltage

automatically. A voltage regulator may use a simple feed-forward design or may

include negative feedback. It may use an electromechanical mechanism, or electronic

components. Depending on the design, it may be used to regulate one or

more AC or DC voltages (Mariya et al., 2014).

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Electronic voltage regulators are found in devices such as computer power supplies where they

stabilize the DC voltages used by the processor and other elements. In automobile alternators and

central power station generator plants, voltage regulators control the output of the plant. In an

electric power distribution system, voltage regulators may be installed at a substation or along

distribution lines so that all customers receive steady voltage independent of how much power is

drawn from the line (Mariya et al., 2014).

A simple voltage/current regulator can be made from a resistor in series with a diode (or series of

diodes). Due to the logarithmic shape of diode V-I curves, the voltage across the diode changes

only slightly due to changes in current drawn or changes in the input. When precise voltage

control and efficiency are not important, this design may be fine. Since the forward voltage of a

diode is small, this kind of voltage regulator is only suitable for low voltage regulated output.

When higher voltage output is needed, a zener diode or series of zener diodes may be employed.

Zener diode regulators make use of the zener diode's fixed reverse voltage, which can be quite

large (Kadiri et al., 2015).

Feedback voltage regulators operate by comparing the actual output voltage to some fixed

reference voltage. Any difference is amplified and used to control the regulation element in such

a way as to reduce the voltage error. This forms a negative feedback control loop; increasing the

open-loop gain tends to increase regulation accuracy but reduce stability. (Stability is avoidance

of oscillation, or ringing, during step changes.) There will also be a trade-off between stability

and the speed of the response to changes. If the output voltage is too low (perhaps due to input

voltage reducing or load current increasing), the regulation element is commanded, up to a point,

to produce a higher output voltage–by dropping less of the input voltage (for linear series

regulators and buck switching regulators), or to draw input current for longer periods (boost-type
 8

switching regulators); if the output voltage is too high, the regulation element will normally be

commanded to produce a lower voltage (Ohajianya et al., 2014). However, many regulators have

over-current protection, so that they will entirely stop sourcing current (or limit the current in

some way) if the output current is too high, and some regulators may also shut down if the input

voltage is outside a given range (see also: crowbar circuits).

Figure 3: Voltage Regulator

 There are three terminals positive voltage regulators are available in many packages and

also with several o/p voltages, making them useful in a wide range of applications.

Output current up to 1A and o/p voltage is 12.

 Thermal overload and short circuit protection

 Output transistor safe operating area protection

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2.3 Coil

coil, in an electric circuit, one or more turns, usually roughly circular or cylindrical, of current-

carrying wire designed to produce a magnetic field or to provide electrical resistance or

inductance; in the latter case, a coil is also called a choke coil (Wasoi, 22002). A soft iron core

placed within a coil produces an electromagnet. A cylindrical coil that moves a plunger within it

by variations in the current through the coil is known as a solenoid (q.v.).

Figure 4 Coil

 An electromagnetic coil is formed when a conductor is wound around a core

 Primarily used to transfer energy from one electrical circuit to another by magnetic

coupling

 Common types of electrical coils are Tesla, Barker, Choke, Maxwell coil, etc.

2.4 IN4007 Diode

1N4007 belongs to the silicon family of1N400X series. It is a general-purpose rectifying diode

that serves its purpose of converting alternating current signals(AC) to direct current signals
 10

(DC) in electronic products. The IN4007 diode is a device which allows current flow through

only one direction. That is the current should always flow from the Anode to cathode. For 1N

4007 Diode, the maximum current carrying capacity is 1A it withstand peaks up to 30A (Syed et

al., 2014).

Since these diodes only allow electrical current to flow in one direction, they are used to convert

AC power into DC power. When constructing a rectifier, it is important to choose the correct

diode for the job; otherwise, the circuit may become damaged.

when the voltage at the cathode is greater than the anode voltage, the diode will not conduct

electrical current. In practice, however, the diode conducts a small current under these

circumstances. If the voltage differential becomes great enough, the current across the diode will

increase and the diode will break down.

When the voltage at the anode is higher than the cathode voltage, the diode is said to be

“forward-biased,” since the electrical current is “moving forward.” The maximum amount of

current that the diode can consistently conduct in a forward-biased state is 1 ampere.

Theorotically, when the voltage at the cathode is greater than the anode voltage, the diode will

not conduct electrical current. In practice, however, the diode conducts a small current under

these circumstances. If the voltage differential becomes great enough, the current across the

diode will increase and the diode will break down (Meghana et al., 2014).
 11

Figure 51N4148 Diode

 This diode is used as full wave bridge rectifier circuit in this project

 Maximum reverse bias voltage capacity of 50V and max forward current capacity of

1Amp.

2.5 Project Working

The main concept of this project is to design a device for the concept of wireless power transfer

to eliminate the use conventional copper cables and also current carrying wires (Wamalwa,

2016).

This project is built upon using a circuit which converts AC 230V 50Hz to AC 12V, High

frequency (HF). The output is fed to a tuned coil shaping as main of an air core transformer. The

minor coil develops a voltage of HF 12volt (Wamalwa, 2016).

 12

Figure 6 Wireless Power Transfer Project (Wamalwa, 2016).

Thus the power transfer can be done by the primary to the secondary that is divided with 3cm

distance. So the transfer could be seen as the primary transmits and the secondary receives the

power to run a load (Wamalwa, 2016).

In addition, this method can be used in several applications, like to charge gadgets like mobile

phone, laptop battery, iPod, propeller clock wirelessly. And also this type of charging offers a far

lower risk of electrical shock as it would be galvanically isolated. This is an Emerging

Technology, and in future, the distance of power transfer can be improved as the study across the

world is still going on (Wamalwa, 2016).

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CHAPTER THREE

WIRELESS POWER TRANSFER TECHNOLOGY AND STANDARDS

3.1 Wireless power transfer technology

The electromagnetic field that radiates from an antenna takes on characteristics that depend on

the distance from the radiating element. In particular, we can distinguish two areas: near field

area and far-field area.

An example we all know is the transformer, which transfers energy from a primary coil to a

secondary one without direct electrical connection, but using the magnetic inductive coupling.

Transformers are made with ferrite cores and require a precise alignment between the primary

and secondary side to achieve a strong coupling (Chibuzo, 2016).

The first stage is represented by an inverter, which converts direct current (DC) into alternating

current (AC) at the appropriate frequency (typically in the range between hundreds of kilohertz

and several megahertz). After that, an impedance matching network adjusts the impedance seen

by the transmitting coil according to the load, so that an efficiency of about 90% can be

achieved. The next stage is composed of the transmitting and receiving coils, respectively, used

to generate the magnetic field and to intercept it. A second impedance matching network ensures

that the load sees the appropriate impedance and, finally, a rectifier converts the alternating

current to a stable DC current thanks to a voltage regulator (Chibuzo, 2016).

The use of this technology in portable electronic devices is conditioned by the limited freedom of

movement due to the need for high efficiency and by the weight of bulk magnetic materials. For

the coupling to be efficient, the primary and secondary sides must be well-aligned, and also the
 14

distance between them shall not exceed lengths of the order of tens of centimeters. For these

reasons, inductive coupling is often used for powering electric vehicles.

Starting from the basic principles of the inductive coupling, it is possible to increase the

transmission distances through the technique of resonant magnetic coupling. The concept behind

the resonant magnetic coupling is the following: a large inductive spiral excited by a

radiofrequency source can exploit its resonance to induce a resonant mode in another similar

structure, placed at a certain distance. This allows obtaining a transfer of power without using a

radiative field, on a distance that can even be four times the size of the spiral (Chibuzo, 2016).

Figure 6: a wireless power transfer system based on the resonant magnetic coupling (Chibuzo,

2016).

The system consists of 4 power stages, namely the power factor correction (PFC) converter, the

RF amplifier, the coils or resonators, and the onboard rectifier.

The 50-60 Hz alternating current is rectified and converted into direct current by the rectifier

block. The continuous signal then supplies the RF block, an amplifier that converts the DC

voltage into radio frequency voltage used to drive the loop into the transmission. On the

receiving side, the incoming resonance loop transmits the RF signal to the rectifier, which
 15

supplies the load with a suitably regulated direct current. Although not shown in the figure, these

systems often include impedance matching networks for achieving an acceptable transmissive

efficiency between source and load.

Figure7: RLC circuit for WPT technology based on resonant magnetic coupling (Kadiri et

al., 2015).

The systems can be represented as an RLC circuit (figure 4) in which, at the resonance

frequency, the energy oscillates between the inductor L where it is stored in the magnetic field

and the capacitor C where it is accumulated in the electric field. The quality with which the

resonator accumulates energy is defined by the quality factor Q, which is a function of the

resonance frequency w0 and of the loss factor Γ:

When two similar resonators are placed close to each other at the resonance frequency, a

coupling occurs between them, enabling a transfer of energy. The following formula gives the

optimal efficiency with which the power transfer takes place:

 16

As can be seen, it depends solely on the merit factor U which indicates the goodness of the

coupling.

Compared to the magnetic inductive coupling, the resonant magnetic coupling has considerable

advantages:

 the absence of ferrite cores makes them lighter and therefore more integrable;

 the distances between transmitter and receiver can reach up to 4 meters without the highly

limiting constraint of a perfect alignment between the two loops;

The alignment of the receiving and transmission coils in the flow field and the distance between

the coils determine the efficiency with which the energy is transmitted. The resonance frequency,

the ratio between the dimensions of the transmission coils, and those of the receiving coils, the

coupling factor, the winding impedance, and the parasitic currents of the coil are other factors

that have a great impact on the transmission efficiency energy.

3.2 Standards for wireless energy transfer

The Qi system is a standard for wireless power transfer. It consists of two basic modules, namely

the base station and the mobile device. Its architecture of the highest level is represented in

Figure 8.
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Figure 8 : Qi architecture (Kadiri et al., 2015).

The base station includes one or more power transmitters: each of them can provide wireless

power transfer functionality to a single mobile device at a time and consists in principle of a

power conversion unit and a control unit and communication. The Qi standard is already present

on the consumer market, aboard a wide range of mobile devices. But even the developed world

can benefit from this technology thanks to projects like the recent TIDA-00881, a Texas

Instruments board designed to add to other TI low-power boards (including those of the

Launchpad series) the power supply functionality wireless Qi-compliant (Kadiri et al., 2015).

Infineon offers power MOSFETs for many wireless charging standards and is an active member

of the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) and AirFuel Alliance, the two leading corporate

consortiums for wireless charging technology. The AirFuel Alliance defined a standard for

resonant WPT, which operates at a frequency of 6.78 MHz and allows charging of multiple
 18

devices simultaneously. In particular, BSZ0909ND is suitable for wireless charging architectures

or piloting components (for example, in drones or multi-engines) where designers need to

simplify the layout and significantly save space, without compromising efficiency.
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CHAPTER FOUR

NEED FOR WIRELESS POWER TRANSMISSION IN NIGERIA

4.1 Overview of Nigeria power sector transmission networks

The history of Nigeria transmission networks dated to 1962 with the first 132kv link for power

interconnection between Lagos and Ibadan. There was a progression in 1968 with emergence of

the first national grid which birthed the construction of the Kainji hydro station with the capacity

of 330kV. There was a radial configuration of the transmission network in the three 132kV sub

system for the Western, Northern and the Eastern parts of Nigeria. These two transmission

systems were managed by two distinct bodies: Niger Dams Authority (NDA) and Electricity

Corporation of Nigeria (ECN), while the 330kV transmission line was centrally controlled from

Kainji power supply control room and 132kV network was managed by load dispatcher at Ijora

power supply, Lagos. In 1972. The merger of these two bodies under the umbrella of NEPA took

place in 1972, this is to facilitate a central regulation scheme of the sector (Sunday et al., 2018).

Some of the technical challenges confronting the transmission networks according to Sunday et

al., (2018) are itemized as follows:

i The limitation in the coverage distances which has deprived many rural dwellers access to the

grid

ii The sector is poorly funded, the sole source of funding is from the government and it is grossly

inadequate

iii The total transmitting capacity is still far below the national energy demands even though the

generation capacity is in the excess of what the transmission link can handle
 20

iv Some if not all the sections require total overhauling, the outdated equipment and redundancy

in the sector does not promote effective service delivery to the consumers

v The regular maintenance, expansion and upgrading from time to time is lacking as the

Government does not have resources to finance this.

vi The system is prone to incessant occurrence of vandalism of the electrical infrastructure due to

lack of adequate security

vii The technologies used being obsolete are incapable of delivering correct voltage stabilities

and profiles

viii There is lack of adequate working tools and machines for the technical crew to carry out the

required operation on the network and routine maintenance as needs arise.

ix The entire Nigeria power sector lacks modern communication technology and monitoring

gadgets

x Some of the substations equipment are overloaded and stressed beyond their specified limit,

hence total collapse is eminent with time

xi Lack of spare parts for immediate replacement in case of breakdown

xii Lack of routine human capacity building and recruitment of experts as at when due. There is

no doubt that the current main grid of the power sectors is incapable of handling the vast

electricity being injected from the generation network and hence void of capacity to meet the

expected future system delivery performance.

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4.2 Wireless Power Transmission Campaign in Nigeria

Wireless power transfer is a new and emerging technology where electrical energy is transferred

from generation point through the transmission links to the distribution point to loads and

appliances through the air space without connection to cables and wires (Syed, 2014). The

emergence of this technology heralded by the advance and ubiquity in semiconductor technology

is making a huge wave of transformation in the electrical engineering domain and can be adopted

in the power sector globally (Sambo et al., 2006). In general, WPT systems entail transmission

link to send and retrieve the signal with a free space as a medium between the links. Power can

be transferred wireless over a short and long range. Example of short range transmission are :

inductive coupling: uses electromagnetic induction for short range wireless power transmission ;

another technique is the Resonant inductive coupling where power is transmitted by induction

between coils at resonance and the third one is the Air Ionization: this involves wireless power

transfer by the ionizing medium which is the free space (Syed, 2014). The long range power

transmission which is the interest of this work can be achieves through two major techniques:

The Microwave and Laser Transmission. In the earlier, power is transmitted wirelessly to

distance of kilometers using the power beaming with short wavelength in microwave range while

the latter engages the conversion of electricity into a laser beam, this will be concentrated at

photovoltaic cell for the wireless transmission of the energy. Wireless power transmission being

an effective and efficient way of electrical energy transmission can also be adopted for the

distribution of electricity in places where the conventional way of wire drawing is difficult and

not feasible (Syed, 2014).

The challenging situation in the power sector has been so daunting and frustrating to the citizen

as well as the government. It is an untold unpleasant story of the life without electricity for the
 22

numerous population of our dear nation. This in no small measure has impacted negatively on

the economic and social development of the citizenry. There is a decline in the productivity of

the nation power sector in the recent four decades. The economic and development of the nation

that requires the services of power sector to thrive has experienced a dearth of such to its peril.

The situation in the power sector has been acute power shortage and insufficient and poor quality

of service. There is no doubt, considering the population of the country and steady increase every

day, it is expected that social and economic activities will take a leap in the upward direction

leading to increase in demand and consumption of electricity. It is unfortunate that the power

sector is not bracing up to the task and expectation of the population, rather there is stagnation

and downward turns sometimes in the performance of this sector. The current energy demand for

the population is in the tune of 40,000MW.

The power sector is still far from reaching and meeting this demand with their current meagre

energy production of about 2900-4000MW (Meghana et al., 2016). The geographical structure of

Nigeria is sparsely distributed especially the Northern part, this notwithstanding, electricity must

be taken to all the citizen as part of their civil right regardless of their locations. Research shows

that out of 45% of the Nigeria population with access to electricity, only 10% of this group

belong to the rural dwellers. With the current population of Nigeria of about 180 million, more

than 50% of this are rural dwellers, yet access to electricity is far from this group, no wonder , it

is said that Nigeria though the most populous black country in the world, yet the poorest. It is not

a gain saying that the development of any country is hinged on the access o to electricity,

through which the natural resources can be transformed for economic boom of such nation.

There is a mass shift from the rural settlement in the recent times to the city and this has

imparted greatly on agriculture which happens to be the second resources for national revenue
 23

generation after the petroleum. Record shows that there is 25% reduction in the rural dwellers

population between 1971 and 2009 as a result of migration to the cities (Meghana et al., 2016).

The rural dwellers with great potential of feeding the entire nation has retorted to subsistent

farming due to lack of social amenities and conducive environment that will ease the standard of

living especially electricity which is needed to power many of the life made easy amenities. The

installation and maintenance of main grid to the rural areas can be capital intensive, options that

are less stressful will be welcomed, especially situations where the national grid is cumbersome

and the geographical terrain does not permit extension of the installation, hence making it

uneconomical venture in such areas (Meghana et al., 2016).

A report by Meghana et al., (2016). shows that in 2008 a total loss of 6.8% energy was incurred

and this loss equals to $2.4B worth of energy in Californians and a total sum loss of $24 B loss

annually. This great loss is traced to the resistive and corona losses by the cables when energy in

form of current is transmitted from generation to the consumers. There is dissipation of energy in

form of heat in attempt by the current to overpower the ohmic opposition of the transmission

wires. The solution to this negative effects is to engage a system void of such losses with its non

resistance feature during transmission and WPT is the answer to this daunting challenge in the

power sector.

4.2.1 Wireless power application

WPT has been used in several fields such as consumer electronics (smartphones, PCs, audio

players, tablets, etc.) (Jiua, 2019). Besides the charging of smartphones, cameras, and watches,

WPT technologies can also be used for charging TVs (Jiua, 2019). It’s also used in medicine,

wherein medical implantation applications are used to detect and treat diseases in the human

body [2]. WPT also finds its application in charging systems of autonomous underwater vehicles,
 24

Internet of Things (IoT), electric vehicles, wireless sensor network (WSN), unmanned aerial

vehicles (UAV) (Jiua, 2019). Highlights of the advantages and disadvantages of wireless power

transfer technologies are listed in the following subsections:

Several benefits come with wireless power transfer. The progression of society into a more

technological future is one of them. However, other areas of improvement include

manufacturing, practicality and maintenance.

First, without a wire, production necessities will decrease. People will have less need for cords,

which will help declutter. Going wireless entails a better-sealed device that can prevent damage.

People will also spend less on replacing wires — a chore everyone is all too familiar with.

Integration will also improve how society uses wireless charging. Cars are working toward

wireless charging as the demand for sustainability increases. Certain restaurants or coffee shops

already offer this form of power transfer for phones right from the table or bar.

Wireless charging allows better reach from the transmitter to the receiver, so charging and using

a device will be easy. Still, while it does provide high-speed charging, it’s slower than wired

charging. Experts predict the technology will outpace wired charging in the future, however.

4.3 Need for implementation of WPT in Nigeria

The need for WPT include the following in Nigeria

Every year, billions of disposable batteries are sold. The global alkaline battery market is

predicted to reach $11 billion by 2028. Many of these batteries are bought by individual

consumers, but businesses also consume huge numbers. By our estimate, one major retailer alone

can go through 100 million batteries a year. Few people realize how inefficient batteries are. The

amount of energy they provide is infinitesimal compared to how much energy it takes to create
 25

them and get them to the user. We broke down the figures and found the efficiency of these

batteries is only a fraction of one percent.

4.3.1 Environmental Benefits

Businesses are increasingly under pressure to improve their ESG (environmental, social and

governance) operations. Gartner reported recently that CEOs in its annual survey “placed

environmental sustainability in their top 10 strategic business priorities for the first time. When

done right, wireless power can significantly improve energy efficiency and reduce waste. This is

because companies no longer have to dispose of huge numbers of batteries, plus fewer cords and

cables are needed. Currently, many of these end up in the trash every year, leaking dangerous

chemicals.

There is some confusion around the environmental impact of wireless power. It’s important for

anyone looking to invest in this technology to learn the different types available. Using Infrared

(IR) light rather than radio signals, for example, is more efficient because IR is much more easily

directable.

4.3.2 Can make Businesses Lead The Way

Households stand to gain a great deal from wireless power in the future. And some are already

dipping their toes in these waters, starting with smart door locks and toothbrushes. But right now,

businesses are leading the way—particularly retail.

To entice people back to brick and mortar, businesses are looking to build technologies into the

on-site customer experience. These include interactive displays, smart shopping carts and more.
 26

They’re also grappling with limited staff and need to use technology to make up for it—for

example, by introducing smart shelf technologies that alert managers when a product is running

low on the shelves.

As retailers work to set up new technologies, they face the problem of how to keep everything

running. For larger retailers faced with the issue of traditional power being expensive to install,

beaming power from a remote wireless power transmitter to multiple devices can be an efficient

solution. If you are a retailer looking to adopt this technology, start by analyzing your battery

use. Also, envision how things could operate differently without batteries or cords and determine

which labor-intensive tasks could best be solved by technology—particularly sensors that could

do jobs you currently count on people to do. Then, pick one area to try out wireless power.

There’s no need to solve everything on day one. Implement it, experience it and see how it

improves operations.

4.3.3 Enables The Internet of Things

Wireless power doesn’t just help improve the functionality of technologies that already exist. It

also leads to the creation of entirely new gadgets. As Market Prospects put it, “Wireless power

has a major impact on almost all fields because it enables the Internet of Things to achieve and

develop faster.”

From emergency call buttons to air quality gauges and long-lasting drones, a whole world of new

devices is made possible. As is often the case, businesses that learn to harness these new

opportunities can lead the way in creating the next big things.
 27

Wireless power transfer (WPT) can be used either to directly power the device such as LED

lights or a TV and to recharge a battery such as a mobile phone by simply placing it on aboard.

Communication between medical devices implanted in the human body and external equipment

has long been known. An example is given by the diagnostics parameters transmitted by a

peacemaker toward the outside. In this application, an inductive coupling between a small turn

placed in the device case and a larger one positioned on the patient’s chest allows

communication.

However, implanted medical devices need to be properly powered and, although the use of

lithium-ion batteries allows them to operate autonomously, their replacement requires invasive

operations with relative risks to the patient’s health. WPT technology can remedy this problem

through wireless charging systems. In recent years, the application of WPT technology to the

sustainable e-mobility field has had a growing interest in research institutions, especially in Asia.

Today, electric vehicles need to be linked, through a connector, to an electrical socket for

recharging the batteries. Wireless power transfer allows the elimination of such connectors and

enables automatic recharging.

 28

Figure 9: Wireless charging for Automotive

4.4 Challenges of wireless power transfer

If wireless charging is to become disruptive, it will need to overcome some disadvantages first.

They range from initial investment to security issues. Right now, the initial cost of wireless

charging is high. It will deter people from buying since wired charging is cheaper. This price will

likely drop as wireless charging becomes more widespread, but for now, it remains costly.

Interference and long-distance prove to be another impediment. Some wireless charging requires

that the device is on a pad or station to work. With others, the farther away the gadget is, the less

the charging works. Potential interference from other wireless power transfer devices may get in

the way as well.

Though experts believe wireless charging has similar levels of radiation as regular methods,

people will need to know that it’s okay, as many are afraid of radiation. Security could be a

problem, too. Any form of wireless transfer makes devices susceptible to security breaches.
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CHAPTER FIVE

CONCLUSION

The installation of electric power chain is very capital intensive, not withstanding, constant,

stable and quality power supply cannot be negotiated. The prevalent situation in the country of

paucity of fund demands that creative and innovative techniques are required to address the

problems in the electric power sector. Adequate power generation, effective transmission of the

generated power and safe distribution to the end user, will ensure the lifting of the country to be

among the industrialized nations.

The daunting problem faced by the Nigeria power sector are due to recurrent collapse of the

power grid as result of the heavy winds, water and vandalism of the network by the hoodlums,

thieves and construction site workers. The overloading experience that characterized the nation

grid equipment causes the tripping of such grid, loss of voltage and imminent collapse of the

entire network. Protracted power outage is harmful to the productivity of both industry and

individual and this brings a great deal of discomfort to all. Sustenance of stable power supply to

the consumers all over the world is tasking and entails hard work and consistent dedication and

faithfulness on the part of the stakeholders.

The proliferation of wireless and ubiquity in telecommunication industry is affecting the lifestyle

globally. This tremendous change has impacted virtually every field of profession and

organization now, power sector cannot therefore afford to be left behind, It is time this sector

goes wireless in their networks systems approach. Nigeria can be lighten up by engaging
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Wireless Power transmission technology. The percentage energy losses can be avertedly engaged

for useful application to the benefits of all.

REFERENCES