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  • Author Author: COMPACT
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A Very Compact Guide to Energy Harvesting - Part 005

COMPACT

Delivered As Promised!

As a promise to Gerrit here is a silent video of the Energy Harvesting To Go Kit operating a LED using the onboard TEG (Peltier device).

  • I've disconnected the EFMGG_STK3700 from the Energy Harvesting board and replaced it with a white LED.
  • I've also selected the TEG power source using JP2.

Aside from that no other modifications are required.

 

The silent video shows my hand heating up the TEG to produce power to periodically blink a white LED.

The LED will blink 3 times from the energy harvested from my hand.

With a more capable TEG you could power a LED headlight with heat difference alone.

  

Notes: The yellow patch lead is only to reconnect the onboard TEG to its interface circuit. It was desoldered from the PCB to enable me to connect my car fridge.

I can now easily connect other TEGs.

  • Hi Monte,

     

    Good post.

    You and Victor should get together.  If you take the TEG and just put it in your bike helmet and run a small water pump with some cooling fins on your back, the helmet or on the bike, you should be able to exploit your used calories during a bike ride to power the bike light and the cooling system.

     

    I also agree with the pulse mode for the LED.  You can drive the LED fast enough that the perceived brightness will be more than you could output with a constant current source.

     

     

    Could be a neat side project.

     

    Just a thought,

    DAB

  • in reply to gelmi

    The flashing is deliberate to give the brightest output. I've had the LED on continuously on but it is considerably dimmer.

    As different as chalk and cheese.

  • Try to add a resistor to this LED to regulate the current. I believe you can get the LED to light continuously and not only blink. The STK with the temperature program uses 2 mA. With the warm hand you can get even more power.