Hi,
We're having a little fun, aiming to remove the need for batteries in our smart radiator valve. (How much nicer NOT to have to remember to replace a couple of AA cells every year or two.)
https://github.com/opentrv/OTWiki/wiki/Energy-Harvesting-FeasibilityAnyway, I have these 5F and 15F supercaps on my desk, about the size of a normal ~470uF cap, which makes me feel like I have some sort of superpower. Yes, still probably thousands of times less energy dense than the NiMH AA cells next to them, but, well, it still feels like fun!
Anyway, it looks plausible, and I'll try this simple circuit out first for the sensor in my porch:
It doesn't need to drive a motor, and gets more light than anything inside.
I know that I may still have a problem with the AVR not starting properly if the supply is ramped up *really* slowly with the low brown-out voltage that we have set, but I can deal with that later.
Rgds
Damon