DIY - How to build a homemade ThermoElectric Generator out of common materials Thermoelectric energy generation has been around

for almost 100 years, but due to inefficiencies in design and lack of inexpensive materials, thermoelectric energy generation has yet to go main stream. Here's some history of thermoelectric generation - LINK With recent advances in metal alloy technology, semiconductor technology, and the Green Revolution, research on thermoelectric generation is making a comeback. And now, it may even be possible to home-build a thermoelectric generator. What is a Thermoelectric Generator? Simply put, a thermoelectric generator is a device that converts heat energy into a usable electric current. How does a ThermoElectric Generator work? Here's where it gets complicated, and wikipedia explains this way better than I can. But I'm going to give you the basics, and you can explore the details more on your own through some of the links I provide. Here's how it works: When a material is hotter on one side, compared to the other, a small amount of electrons in that material will start to flow either toward the heat, or away from it, depending on the Seebeck coefficient of the given material. As far as modern science knows, this effect happens will ALL materials. More so with some, than with others. So material selection is key in building an efficient thermoelectric module. Some materials have excess electrons and are known as N-Type Some materials have excess "holes" (the opposite of electrons) and are known as P-Type When we pair a P-type and N-type element, we have what is called a ThermoCouple. This thermocouple is the heart of our thermoelectric generator. If we add a power source to our thermocouple, it creates a Peltier Cooler. This is a solid state (no moving parts) heat transfer unit.

Here is a diagram of how a thermoelectric module works. Notice that the power source is removed, and replace with a load. This load can be a light, or even a battery bank to store the energy with:

What materials can we use as P&N type elements? This is the age old question.

I am currently exploring inexpensive and easy to obtain element materials at this time. Basically, how well the unit works depends mostly on the materials used in it's elements. Here is a partial list of the Seebeck coefficients of some raw elements.

There are many similarities between thermoelectric generation and photovoltaic electric generation. Especially with how the P and N type element materials need to be paired up. The one huge difference is that unlike photovoltaics, thermoelectric modules seem to be much more "Do It Yourself" friendly.