A simple method for harvesting thermoelectric energy in home and industrial appliances heat cycle using peltier cells

Abstract

Energy harvesting models are the focus of most countries, given that governments are becoming aware of the limitations of natural resources and the need to optimize them. On the other hand, different systems used in everyday life and in industrial environments involve the use of heat cycles, but in most cases, their thermoelectric energy is not recovered from these processes. Accordingly, this paper proposes to implement a model based on a low-cost Peltier array that can be attached to commonly used devices with heat cycles involving small temperature differences (∆T=25 °C). A maximum power point tracking (MPPT) method was used to extract the maximum power from this array. This device is thought to take advantage of home and industrial elements’ heat to power low-power system applications. The results show that this technology allows acceptable use and represents an effective recovery mechanism. This work represents a new approximation of the energy harvesting solutions from thermoelectric energy with future benefits, especially on the Internet of Things (IoT) applications, which has been one of the technology areas of most significant expansion and growth in recent decades. The IoT has opened significant challenges in the scientific community, especially regarding the energy supply methods of the IoT elements or nodes, considering that these elements can be located in places where it is impossible to wire to supply power and that use of batteries is unsustainable in the long term, also generating a negative environmental impact. The proposed system harvests energy from the temperature difference generated at a window, considering that the device is controlled environment within a room