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Thermoelectric Microgenerators. Optimization for energy harvesting
Optimization for energy harvesting
Gennady Gromov
© Gennady Gromov, 2018
ISBN 978-5-4493-4334-5
Created with Ridero smart publishing system
Preface
The idea for this book came from the experience. Our team is in thermoelectric business for over 20 years. Firstly, for many years it was thermoelectric cooling solutions for miniature applications. In recent years, thermoelectrics moves in microgenerators trend. Green energy, energy harvesting…
Promising directions – applications of thermoelectric microgenerators for tasks of low energy – recycling waste heat surrounding thermal sources, of human body energy harvesting and so on.
This direction only began its development. Of course, there are many ideas for development come from inventors and scientists. Often an absence of sufficient knowledge and understanding of the subject of thermoelectricity is compensated by enthusiasm, the broadest fields of promising applications, interesting tasks.
Numerous appeals of such potential consumers to assist them in thermoelectric solutions usually are accompanied by neediness of detailed technical consulting from fundamental physical base of the thermoelectricity phenomenon till fine nuances in their applications.
It has given rise to the idea of writing of the reference book FAQ (Frequently Asking Questions) on the most important questions. Gradually this idea has developed into the separate book on the volume of the reference material.
The structure of this book contains detailed explanations addressed to a wide range of readers, which for the most part are not specialists in the field of thermoelectricity, of the basic ideas, important aspects of the practical application of thermoelectric microgenerators in the tasks in energy harvesting. I will be glad, if this book will serve as a reference tool in developing appropriate solutions.
Every Chapter was considered as a separate small manual, easy for an inexperienced user to find answers to their particular questions without resorting to detailed studying of the all material of the book. Therefore, the repetition takes place in formulas and expressions from Chapter to Chapter, for example.
Professionals may also say about excessively detailed clarification of “simple” basics of thermoelectricity. Please, these moments can be simply ignored.
But exactly simple and detailed explanations of important aspects of the application of thermoelectric microgenerators and was the purpose of this book. Many formulas, but their detailed explanations, I hope, will help users understand the issues of interest to them.
Chapter 1. Introduction
Creation of alternative, first of all renewable, power sources is the perspective direction of development of power engineering in the world now. The whole direction under definition “green power” (green energy) was appead.
It is the power engineering based on renewable natural sources of heat, causing the minimum damage to the environment, safe and eco-friendly. The big section of new power engineering is the direction of utilization of waste heat of the sources surrounding the person. Including, very interestingly, – thermal emission of a human body.
It should be noted that due to the nature of these heat sources, this is small power engineering. It received a general definition- energy harvesting.
To transform the energy of such energy sources it is possible to use devices that are based on different physical principles: electrodynamic, photovoltaic (small solar panels), piezoelectric and thermoelectric (microgenerators).
Every of the above types of energy converters has its advantages and disadvantages at the same time. And mostly they still compete for the tasks of energy harvesting at the level of concepts and laboratory projects.
Thermoelectric (TE) converters, thermoelectric generators (TEG) have several advantages over other mentioned:
– “omnivore” – convert any weak heat flow, all sources, including the heat of the human body.
– all-weather is not dependent on the daylight cycle (as solar panels).
– latent installations, due to the very small size, which is important for masking.
– highest reliability and long service life (over 25 years).