New Wearable Tech To Transform Your Body Heat Into Electricity
Providing yet another reason to cheer and look up to your sweaty workout, researchers at North Carolina State University have developed novel prototypes known as Wearable thermoelectric generators (TEGs) that harvest one’s body heat into electricity—which can then be used to power devices as mobile phones.
The experimental new device is light-weight and conforms to body shape generating power by making use of the temperature differential between one’s body and the ambient air. The technology generates up to 20 µW/cm2 of power without making use of a heat sink, claim researchers.
The TEG is a supply of renewable energy that is only limited by your ability to move. It is incredibly light, easy to wear; being thin- only 2 millimeters and one cm squared. The researchers incorporated TEG into T-shirts where they found that the T-shirt TEGs were capable of generating 6 µW/cm2 – or as much as 16 µW/cm2 of power if a person is running.
The new design begins with a layer of thermally conductive material that rests on the skin and spreads out the heat. The conductive material is topped with a polymer layer which prevents the heat from dissipating through to the outside air. This forces the body heat to pass through a centrally-located TEG. Heat not converted into electricity passes through the TEG into an outer layer of thermally conductive material, which rapidly dissipates the heat.
Researchers further aim to improve on wearable technologies for long-term health monitoring, such as devices that track heart health or monitor physical and environmental variables to predict and prevent a host of other diseases.
The paper was published in the journal Applied Energy.
Source: <a href="https://news.ncsu.edu/2016/09/wearable-teg-heat-harvesting-2016/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Lightweight, Wearable Tech Efficiently Converts Body Heat to Electricity | NC State News</a>
The experimental new device is light-weight and conforms to body shape generating power by making use of the temperature differential between one’s body and the ambient air. The technology generates up to 20 µW/cm2 of power without making use of a heat sink, claim researchers.
The TEG is a supply of renewable energy that is only limited by your ability to move. It is incredibly light, easy to wear; being thin- only 2 millimeters and one cm squared. The researchers incorporated TEG into T-shirts where they found that the T-shirt TEGs were capable of generating 6 µW/cm2 – or as much as 16 µW/cm2 of power if a person is running.
The new design begins with a layer of thermally conductive material that rests on the skin and spreads out the heat. The conductive material is topped with a polymer layer which prevents the heat from dissipating through to the outside air. This forces the body heat to pass through a centrally-located TEG. Heat not converted into electricity passes through the TEG into an outer layer of thermally conductive material, which rapidly dissipates the heat.
Researchers further aim to improve on wearable technologies for long-term health monitoring, such as devices that track heart health or monitor physical and environmental variables to predict and prevent a host of other diseases.
The paper was published in the journal Applied Energy.
Source: <a href="https://news.ncsu.edu/2016/09/wearable-teg-heat-harvesting-2016/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Lightweight, Wearable Tech Efficiently Converts Body Heat to Electricity | NC State News</a>
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