Jones Beene <jone...@pacbell.net> wrote:
> very low power density now - plenty of room for improvement > Can it be improved? The temperature difference is so low, I am surprised a thermoelectric gadget produces measurable current. In a third world rural setting, it might make more sense to burn firewood or kerosene outside the house and power a thermoelectric device from that. That is what they do in Russia. The thermoelectric device could not be built into a solar panel in that case. You might be thinking, "why not just use the fire for illumination?" The fire is outside the house, so the smoke does not bother anyone. The use of kerosene indoors causes many health problems. Electricity from the thermoelectric device would light LED bulbs much brighter than the fire itself. Plan B would be to put the thermoelectric device up against a large rock, or on the outside of a bucket of water, or something else that retains a lot of heat. A solar panel does not seem like a good choice. Not much thermal mass.
