Everactive’s Self‑Powering IoT Sensors Eliminate Batteries with Solar, Thermal, and Vibration Energy

Everactive, founded by MIT alumni Ben Calhoun and Dave Wentzloff, has created a new class of self‑powered IoT sensors that eliminate the need for batteries or hard‑wired power.

Using a blend of indoor solar, thermal‑gradient harvesting, and vibration capture, each sensor generates its own electricity. The ultra‑low‑power design—powered by sub‑microwatt wake‑up receivers and advanced integrated circuits—means the devices can monitor temperature, humidity, light, vibration, motion, sound, pressure, gas, and more without ever drawing from an external battery.

Beyond solving the supply problem, Everactive addresses demand by minimizing power consumption. The proprietary wireless protocol operates on a sub‑GHz frequency that penetrates walls and obstacles, providing up to 800‑foot range while trimming transmission steps that would otherwise sap energy.

Data from up to several hundred sensors are routed to an on‑premises gateway, which forwards the information to Everactive’s Evercloud backend for real‑time monitoring and analytics. The company offers the complete solution as a service at roughly $25 per device per month.

Operational savings are a key benefit. Replacing thousands of batteries—each potentially lasting years—represents a significant recurring cost and logistical hurdle. Self‑powered sensors unlock use cases that would otherwise be impractical, such as monitoring critical equipment at the rim of a volcano or other hazardous, remote environments.

The current flagship application is a steam‑trap monitoring system for industrial steam networks. Autonomous sensors track temperature and moisture levels to detect leaks or failures before they cause energy loss or safety issues. Additional use cases, including remote asset tracking, are in development.