A study of using a thermoelectric generator to harvest energy from a table lamp
Journal
Energy
Journal Volume
76
Pages
788-798
Date Issued
2014
Author(s)
Weng C.-C.
Abstract
The application of a TEG (thermoelectric power generator) to harvest energy from the waste heat of a commercial table lamp was investigated experimentally as well as numerically. The table lamp was integrated with TEG chips which were cooled by a natural convection heat sink. In the simulation, the heat sink was not truly simulated but modeled by the compact heat sink model. The effective thermal conductivity of the fiction fluid in the compact model was calibrated by matching the calculated and measured temperatures. A 1D TEG model taking the Peltier and Joule heats into consideration was then proposed to predict the power generation rate based on the simulated hot side and cold side thermal conductances of the open-circuit system. The prediction is in a good agreement with the closed-circuit simulation results but has a slightly larger maximum power generation rate and a slightly smaller optimal electric load than the experimental measurements. It was attributed to the effect of the remaining electric resistances in the circuit other than the internal resistance of the TEG chips and external load. Finally, it was found that the low hot-side thermal conductance is the main reason for the low power generation efficiency. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd.
Subjects
Compact heat sink model; Lamp; Thermoelectric generator; Waste heat recovery
SDGs
Other Subjects
Circuit simulation; Computer simulation; Electric lamps; Heat convection; Heat sinks; Thermal conductivity; Thermoelectric power; Thermoelectricity; Waste heat; Waste heat utilization; Circuit systems; Compact heat sink; Effective thermal conductivity; External loads; Internal resistance; Measured temperatures; Thermal conductance; Thermoelectric generators; Thermoelectric equipment; energy efficiency; numerical model; power generation; temperature effect; thermal conductivity
Publisher
Elsevier Ltd
Type
journal article