Brief

Harvesting thermal energy to provide perpetual energy to electronics

Technology Overview

Energy harvesting from ambient sources is an attractive means of powering electronic devices. A thermoelectric energy harvesting system has been developed that charges an energy store from ambient thermal energy. The system is comprised of a thermoelectric energy generator (TEG), an automatic polarity monitor, and switching matrix. The TEG functions to generate a voltage when thermally connected between two temperature reservoirs at different temperatures.