Harvesting of electrical energy from wasted heat from common household stoves using thermoelectric generators (TEGs)

Due to increasing concern of Environmental hazards coupled with the depletion of fuel sources has resulted in extensive research into new ideas and technologies of generating electrical power. Recent advancements in materials science has triggered research and investigation on waste heat energy harvesting techniques. Thermoelectric generators have emerged as a potential technology in that regard. Waste heat energy harvested using the thermoelectric generators (TEGs) are governed by the Thermoelectric, or Seebeck, effect, generating electricity from a temperature gradient. This work asks the question whether electricity can be produced from the wasted heat from household stoves commonly used in Bangladesh. For that, several tests were conducted by heating the Thermo- Electric Cooler (TEC) cells on a Bunsen burner to predict its behavior during real operation and later, the developed characteristics patterns were applied, verified and improved by applying them on the cooking stoves. In order to do so, a new design consisting of bypass metal attached to TEC cell acting as generator unit for converting thermal energy into electrical energy has been introduced that utilizes the heat from burner flame. While using Aluminum Alloy of 10 cm length as bypass metal directly exposed to flame and without any heat sink attached to cell, 1.2 V was found at 80 seconds. On the other hand, 1.59 V was found while using Aluminum alloy of 10 cm length as bypass metal with heat sink attached to cell. The experiments were conducted under controlled room temperature and natural convection process. The main focus this study is the voltage output from our proposed generator unit. Also, another set of studies were conducted that gives us the idea of Power output from our setup. Both the outputs from this study might be utilized on light duty works required for household purposes.