I'm not sure if I'm doing it right (probably not), but using the formula from EEVblog #55 [1], assuming the dimensions are the same as the previous model (6.46 * 2.01 inches) [2] and a 40 meter range [3] I'm getting an output of 0.04178 μW.
Could that tiny amount of power be enough to do anything useful at all?
Nope. But just do the math. =)
Here is my (quick) take:
- Let's assume the remote is reasonably efficient, and requires 15 mW of power while transmitting (about 4.5 mA @ 3.3 V, to get an idea. Not that much for a remote using IR, or even Bluetooth, so it's very likely optimistic here.)
- Let's assume it draws about 1 µW when in standby. Optimistic here too IMO. Would require a very careful design.
- And let's assume the total time spent transmitting in 24 h is 30 s. Depends on your use, but at least for IR, it's probably even pretty optimistic.
Assuming I didn't mess up the calculation, that would be an average of 6.2 µW. And again, probably very optimistic already.
Assuming you can harvest an average of 0.04178 µW, that would be 0.67% of the remote's consumption. Let's assume a 90% efficiency for charging the "battery" - probably optimistic too here - we're down to 0.54 %. Even if one managed to harvest 10 times the power you estimated, that would still be only about 5% of the remote's consumption. And again that's with pretty optimistic consumption figures IMO.
But as thm_w said, it still has a solar cell, and unless you stick the remote in a drawer when you're not using it, this is where it will get most of its power from. The RF thing is marketing wank.
To get an idea of a typical remote's consumption - but maybe here Samsung managed to design an ultra efficient remote: they often use 2 to 4 AAA batteries these days. Let's take the 2-battery option, with alkaline batteries, typical capacity of 1000 mAh, so about 3 Wh. If the batteries last for 2 years, that's an average consumption of about 171 µW.
So, yeah.