Thermoelectric Energy Harvesting: Basic Principles and Applications

Abstract

Green energy harvesting aims to supply electricity to electric or electronic systems from one or different energy sources present in the environment without grid connection or utilisation of batteries. These energy sources are solar (photovoltaic), movements (kinetic), radio-frequencies and thermal energy (thermoelectricity). The thermoelectric energy harvesting technology exploits the Seebeck effect. This effect describes the conversion of temperature gradient into electric power at the junctions of the thermoelectric elements of a thermoelectric generator (TEG) device. This device is a robust and highly reliable energy converter, which aims to generate electricity in applications in which the heat would be otherwise dissipated. The significant request for thermoelectric energy harvesting is justified by developing new thermoelectric materials and the design of new TEG devices. Moreover, the thermoelectric energy harvesting devices are used for waste heat harvesting in microscale applications. Potential TEG applications as energy harvesting modules are used in medical devices, sensors, buildings and consumer electronics. This chapter presents an overview of the fundamental principles of thermoelectric energy harvesting and their low-power applications.

Thermoelectric behaviour of Bi-Te films on polymer substrates DC-sputtered at room-temperature in moving web deposition

“…Since wearable thermoelectric generators (TEGs) are of interest as a clean source of local energy [1], thermoelectric (TE) materials for near-room temperature (RT) operation have been extensively studied. Based on Seebeck effect, TE materials can directly convert thermal energy to electrical energy and vice versa [2]. As one of the best conventional TE materials at RT, bismuth telluride (Bi2Te3) is a type of V2-VI3 binary chalcogenide compound semiconductor with a narrow band gap (Eg) of around 0.2 eV [3][4][5].…”

Sensing Systems for Respiration Monitoring: A Technical Systematic Review

“…They convert a temperature gradient into electric power. Therefore, they need a temperature variation in space [ 253 ]. A thermoelectric module is an array of p-type and n-type semiconductors.…”

“…This can also be inferred from the short battery life indicated by most studies that include this data (less than 12 h typically). Furthermore, the use of energy harvesting techniques in respiratory monitoring is another open research question, since the number of studies that implemented them is still residual [ 77 , 84 , 104 , 135 , 240 , 241 , 242 , 243 , 244 , 245 , 246 , 247 , 248 , 250 , 251 , 252 , 253 ]. Most studies presented laboratory experiments instead of functional prototypes.…”

“… Schematic of a pyroelectric energy harvester using a mask-mounted breathing prototype (figure inspired by Reference [ 253 ]). …”

An analytic study of the Wiedemann–Franz law and the thermoelectric figure of merit

“…Thermoelectric (TE) materials continue to generate interest despite the fact that the phenomena have been known since the 19th century [1][2][3]. The renewed interest has been stimulated by concern over the effects of fossil fuels as major contributors to global warming as well as the advancement in materials properties for energy generation and conversion [4]. Thermoelectric materials can generate power using the Seebeck effect or refrigerate using the Peltier effect.…”