As the global demand for electricity continues to rise, the development of efficient and
sustainable renewable energy sources is becoming increasingly important. However,
research on the utilization of piezoelectric technology to harvest energy from river flows remains limited and has not yet been widely applied in renewable energy systems. This
study aims to explore the use of piezoelectric materials arranged in series and parallel
configurations to generate electricity from the flow of the Cikumpa River and to apply it
to a street lighting system. The method used in this research is experimental, employing piezoelectric devices arranged in two configurations series and parallel by harnessing the
river's flow as a pressure source for the piezoelectric elements. The results show that the parallel configuration was able to generate a maximum current of 96 mA and a power output of 11.325 mW, while the series configuration only reached a current of 41 mA, a
power output of 7.056 mW, and a voltage of 172.1 mV. Data collected over 10 hours revealed that at 07:00, the voltage was 11.37 volts, the current was 0.22 amps, and the
power was 2.5 watts, with a battery charge percentage of 9.87%. By the 10th hour, at
16:00, the voltage increased to 11.94 volts, the current to 0.52 amps, and the power to 6.2
watts, raising the battery charge percentage to 39.93%. For the output data, at the first
hour (17:00), the voltage was 11.82 volts, the current was 0.42 amps, and the power was
4.7 watts, with a battery charge percentage of 30.02%. By the last hour (22:00), after 6
hours, the voltage was 11.38 volts, the current was 0.19 amps, and the power was 2.5
watts, with the battery charge percentage dropping to 9.88%. Although the parallel
configuration of piezoelectric devices generates higher current and power, the main
challenge faced is the relatively long battery charging time. With improved efficiency
through further development, this system could contribute to more sustainable and environmentally friendly energy harvesting solutions.
Keywords: Renewable energy, Piezoelectric, Series circuit, Parallel circuit, Street
lighting.