This Clever Generator Design Keeps the Harvested Energy Flowing Whatever the Weather
Capable of generating useful energy even at night, this continuous thermoelectric generator could one day replace batteries.
Researchers from Jimei University, the Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Oceanic Information Perception and Intelligent Processing, the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, and Zhejiang University have come up with a power-generating device they hope could replace batteries in sensors and other small-scale electronics — and that works continuously, day or night.
"Traditional power sources like batteries are limited in capacity and require regular replacement or recharging, which can be inconvenient and unsustainable," explains project lead Jing Liu of the problem the team sought to solve. "Our new TEG design could offer a sustainable and continuous energy solution for small devices, addressing the constraints of traditional power sources like batteries."
What the team has developed is a thermoelectric generator (TEG), but one which can operate at all times. During the day it harvests energy from the sun using an ultra-broadband solar absorber (UBSA) to heat the generator up on one side and a radiative cooling emitter (RCE) to cool it on the other, creating the temperature differential required to generate electricity.
Where a solar panel stops working entirely at night, the team's TEG design is claimed to operate at all times and in all weather — though at varying levels of efficiency. "The unique design of our self-powered thermoelectric generator allows it to work continuously, no matter the weather," Liu claims. In testing, that certainly seems true: a prototype TEG developed by the team generated up to 166.2mV when the sun was shining and a lower but still positive 95mV and 14.7mV on cloudy days and at night respectively.
"Our innovative method for combining solar heating with radiative cooling allows the TEG to generate electricity that is uninterrupted," says researcher and paper co-author Haoyuan Cai. "This could improve access to critical services, particularly in remote or underdeveloped areas where traditional power sources are not available."
“With further development, our TEG has the potential to impact a wide range of applications," adds Liu, "from remote sensors to wearable electronics, promoting a more sustainable and eco-friendly approach to powering our daily lives."
The team's work has been published under open access terms in the journal Optics Express.