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How to build a thermoelectric lamp

by reukpower on January 4, 2010 Table of Contents License: Attribution Non-commercial Share Alike (by-nc-sa) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Intro: How to build a thermoelectric lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . step 1: Drill the holes in the can and fit the feet and central adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . step 2: Tighten them all up and glue the central nut in place. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . step 3: Cut the candle door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . step 4: Cut the coke can to size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . step 5: Fit some Rock wool to the coke can . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . step 6: Test the coke can fit in the tin can. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . step 7: Fit the handle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . step 8: Drill the heatsink for the peltier holder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . step 9: Cut the peltier holder to size. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . step 10: Apply thermal compound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . step 11: Fit the peltier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . step 12: Insulate the peltier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . step 13: Cut an aluminium patch for the peltier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . step 14: Bolt the peltier down . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . step 15: Solder and fit the joule thief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . step 16: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 2 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 6 6 6 7 7 8 8 9 9

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http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-build-a-thermoelectric-lamp/

License: Attribution Non-commercial Share Alike (by-nc-sa) Intro: How to build a thermoelectric lamp
The thermoelectric lamp generates electricity off the temperature difference between the hot candle and the cool heat sink. This we can use to power small devices, like a radio or very bright LEDs. You may be able to charge an mp3 player off of it too! Here's what we'll need: A thermoelectric peltier chip, the bigger the better. I used a 100W version. A large heat sink, I used a dell one with heat pipes. The success depends on this heatsink, get the best you can! An emergency phone charger (we are going to steal the joule thief out of it) A Small amount of Rock wool insulation, small amounts available from garden centers. A small tin can with a lip around the top. (Heinz beans will do) A coke can. Thermal heat compound Some heavy duty foil, about 30x30cm A foot of thick copper or steel wire, for the handle. 2 25mm long M6 Bolts 4 40mm long M5 Bolts 1 50mm long M5 Bolt. The bolts don't need to be any exact size, just use whatever is available, almost any will work. Tools you'll need: Tin snips Soldering iron Pliers (with cutters) Drill bits Sandpaper M6 Tap for cutting the threads. The not essential as you could just use an ordinary nut, but it's neater. Drill (Drill press makes life easier...) Glue or Glue gun You can see more photos of the TEG2 here

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-build-a-thermoelectric-lamp/

step 1: Drill the holes in the can and fit the feet and central adjustment
You can see that I have drilled 5 holes in the bottom of the can. These are for the feet and candle height adjustment. I fitted little rubber feet to them, this is not essential.

step 2: Tighten them all up and glue the central nut in place.
Once you've tightened all of the feet up, you need to glue the central nut in place. You can see I've added a cardboard shim inside of the can. This because the coke can is slightly too small for the tin can. This prevents it from tipping slightly when the candle height is adjusted. The cardboard only needs to be about 25mm high.

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-build-a-thermoelectric-lamp/

step 3: Cut the candle door

Next you need to cut the hole for the candle in the side of the can this should be around 30 - 35mm by about 50mm long. I started by drilling a small hole and worked from there using the tin snips. After this you can drill the ventilation holes all the way around the top of the can. I used a 3mm drill bit for this. Make sure you sand all the edges so you can't cut yourself on the metal!

step 4: Cut the coke can to size

Now cut the coke can to about half off the height of the tin can, you can see in the photo I am testing the height of the flame, we want it to be around 6mm away from the ruler with a new candle. You'll probably have to make a few adjustments to get this right.

step 5: Fit some Rock wool to the coke can

Next turn the coke can over and fill it with Rock Wool insulation. Poke a space in the middle with a pen or something similar for the bolt to go into.

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-build-a-thermoelectric-lamp/

step 6: Test the coke can fit in the tin can.

Now you can fit the coke can in place. You can see a little dimple in the middle, this is because the coke can was forced down to give the bolt something to rest on. The coke can might not fit perfectly on the bolt because of the insulation, you might need to wiggle it about a bit! Test the movement to make sure you can adjust the height smoothly.

step 7: Fit the handle

Next, you can form the handle for carrying the device. I used some thick copper wire as a handle because it matches the heat sink pipes. You need to bend the handle back through the holes to prevent it from turning, see the photo. This stops the device rotating upside down when you are carrying it (the heat sink is the heaviest part).

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-build-a-thermoelectric-lamp/

step 8: Drill the heatsink for the peltier holder

Now we can work on the heat sink. Here I have drilled two holes to mount the peltier. You can either tap the holes, or use a locknut on the other side. The two holes need to be set so that the bolts fit inside of the tin can, this keeps the peltier in the right position. I have also cleaned the heat sink ready for the thermal compound.

step 9: Cut the peltier holder to size.

Next you can make the cover for the peltier. It's easier to cut the square out with this part still attached to the can - cut the square and then use a can opener to remove the bottom. Mark around the peltier with a marker or a scribe and drill a hole in the centre, work out from this using the tin snips to make the square. The square needs to be slightly smaller than the peltier chip so that it grips it. Mark the two holes the same as on the heatsink and drill them for the correct size. I made the cut out slightly round so I didn't cut through the strengthening ribs on the tin lid.

step 10: Apply thermal compound

Now you can apply the thermal compound to the heat sink. Make sure it is clean and spread the compound over the contact area. Note: as some people have commented the thermal compound only needs to be a very fine layer, not a thick paste like I have done here. There is a little too much thermal compound in the photo.

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-build-a-thermoelectric-lamp/

step 11: Fit the peltier

Now you can fit the peltier to the heat sink. Press it down into the thermal compound and wiggle to smooth out the compound. You can see that the peltier is very dirty from soot, this is from my testing. The side that is in contact with the heatsink must be clean though. When you use the device dry and avoid getting soot on the peltier as it blocks the heat transfer. Use the candle height adjustment to get this right.

step 12: Insulate the peltier

Now you need to make a thermal insulator for between the heat sink and the fire tin. Cut a square out of the foil the same size as the peltier chip and fit this over the peltier. Fill around the sides with 5mm thick strips of rockwool. Fold the foil over and you should end up with something like this. Don't worry if it is too thick as the bolts will compress it when tightened.

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-build-a-thermoelectric-lamp/

step 13: Cut an aluminium patch for the peltier

Now cut a square of aluminium the same size as the peltier chip. Sand the patch with fine paper to remove the paint. Apply thermal compound (the same as in step 10) and gently place it over the peltier ready for step 14.

step 14: Bolt the peltier down

Now you can bolt the peltier down. You'll need to punch some holes in the Rock Wool insulator for the bolts.

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-build-a-thermoelectric-lamp/

step 15: Solder and fit the joule thief

You can remove the battery pack from the emergency charger and just use the plastic end cap with the circuit in it. First check the polarity of the wires to make sure that you know which way to solder them on. You can do this by just trying them both ways to see which way works, do this with the peltier heated by the candle. You'll need to solder the wires on to the joule thief and attach the joule thief to the tin can. I just used hot melt glue to fix it in place. You should have a nice 2.5mm output jack where you can plug things in.

step 16:
It should be finished now! You try various loads in the output to see what kind of power you get. Different peltiers will put out different amounts of power, it also depends on the temperature difference you manage to achieve. I managed to charge my small MP3 player, but it didn't have enough power to charge my phone. You can see it powering an LED torch here. You can see more photos of the device at teg2

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-build-a-thermoelectric-lamp/

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Comments
40 comments Add Comment

raymccullie says:

Jan 9, 2010. 1:25 AM REPLY I wonder if you could use something like this on a computer? Offset the energy cost of running the PC with power from it's own heat?

Per_automatik says:

Jan 16, 2010. 11:47 AM REPLY i was thinking something similar due heat being restproduct and obsuleet. though i think it's very important that the other side is much cooler and the cpu for the sake of causing a temperature difference enough, though.. sure it wouldn't be that nice putting the power back in the computer... it would probably be not that constant.

cdousley says:
do you think i could get six volts off this

Jan 5, 2010. 12:02 PM REPLY

reukpower says:
You could get 6 volts off the joule thief, but not directly off the peltier. The current would be pretty small though.

Jan 6, 2010. 1:36 AM REPLY

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-build-a-thermoelectric-lamp/

stoobers says:
What is a "joule thief" ? Is it some kind of voltage modifier?

Jan 7, 2010. 1:17 PM REPLY

reukpower says:
Yes, it's a little circuit that steps up the voltage.

Jan 13, 2010. 1:18 AM REPLY

cdousley says:
do you think i could get enuf current to power a small motor it was powered by four aas

Jan 15, 2010. 7:54 AM REPLY

stoobers says:

Jan 15, 2010. 9:43 AM REPLY Ok, I looked up the joule thief circuit. It is sort of a "charge pump" where the inductor builds up a magnetic field, then the transistor dumps it. The spike is enough to "fire" off the LED. Its like that water clock out in front of the tiki room at disneyland. Its like a very low voltage schmitt trigger oscillator. So in that respect, it should: 1. Have very little current. 2. It would pulse, maybe like a sine wave. So it probably wouldn't be too good as a energy source for a motor. With a tiny enough motor, like a cell phone vibration motor, it might make it move.

tinstructable says:
How much more efficient would it be if you added a computer fan to the cooling unit?

Jan 5, 2010. 5:46 PM REPLY

drzcyy says:
A fan will require energy to run, which defeats the purpose of generating it in the first place.

Jan 11, 2010. 11:49 AM REPLY

Whales says:
perpetual motion???? probably not.. what a possible drag..

Jan 12, 2010. 1:29 PM REPLY

Johenix says:

Jan 5, 2010. 8:35 PM REPLY Just for kicks and giggles don't use a conventional heat sink, use a small pan of water, like the little pot in the Boy Scout mess kit. Water boils at 100C /212F, much more efficient cooler than a fan.

netgrazer says:

Jan 12, 2010. 6:38 AM REPLY Restaurants often have those candles with a spring-powered push-up mechanism under them, you'd never have to readjust the height with those, just change them when they run out. Also, wouldn't aerogel be the ideal material for pretty much everything on the hot side? Unfortunately, it's still a bit tricky to make, I believe (especially the supercritical drying part sounds complicated). Maybe some ready-made aerogel could be shaped to the right dimensions, but it is awfully brittle.

CoolKoon says:

Jan 8, 2010. 1:14 PM REPLY Hmmmmmmm..........this is a great idea! But how about a slight "twist" in it? I'd suggest using several peltier chips stacked on top of each other. This way each of them would provide some additional electricity while possibly also elliminating the need for a big heatsink. Then all the chips would be connected to a regulator circuit for a steady output. How about that?

ddarko says:

Jan 8, 2010. 10:34 AM REPLY Nice instructable! I was kinda hoping it would somehow teach me how to create a homemade peltier device McGuyver-style lol.

OverSaltedFry says:

Jan 5, 2010. 4:32 AM REPLY Its a really cool idea, i just dont understand how the output light intensity can possibly be brighter then the origional candle. In any energy conversion there are losses in power, normally as heat. Is it just because the LEDs are so efficient?

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-build-a-thermoelectric-lamp/

cyberdove says:

Jan 7, 2010. 8:15 PM REPLY Most of the energy of the candle is given off as heat. That waste heat is converted to electricity by the peltier device, then to light by the photo-efficient LEDs.

stoobers says:

Jan 7, 2010. 1:25 PM REPLY A candle can make 100 watts of power or more. 500 watts of power from a fat kerosene wick (around 3/4 horsepower!) is enough to power a home refrigerator - not a freon fridge, though - a servel type with the amonia. These are used in campers and RV's. Light and power are two different things. A candle makes one "candle" of light, but 100 watts of power. An LED can make several candles of light from 100 watts of power (from the candle.) Another way to make more light from a single candle is to run the heat from the flame through a mantle - the kind used in propane lanterns. A few hundred watts of candle heat can blind you! There are oil lamps made by "aladdin" that work this way.

PKM says:

Jan 5, 2010. 7:04 AM REPLY We're used to being told how inefficient incandescent lightbulbs are for generating heat, but the truth is fire is even worse. Even the inefficient Peltier and LEDs can produce more light from the candle flame's heat than the candle itself does. I love this design, it would be great in "emergency" power loss scenarios- candles probably pack as much energy into a small space as batteries, and provide heat as an added benefit.

msraynsford says:

Jan 5, 2010. 5:01 AM REPLY Light is probably just a side effect of burning candle wax, I expect most of the energy is given out as heat. Plus, as you said, LEDs are very efficient

xhell says:
Dear man! Display of the device where the wires come North and South + and --

Jan 7, 2010. 10:07 AM REPLY

reukpower says:

Jan 7, 2010. 1:19 PM REPLY I added an extra photo in step 15 for you, though I can't tell you exactly how to wire your peltier up because the polarity varies depending on which side of the peltier you are heating, you have to test it either both ways or with a multimeter.

oppie says:
The TE module I am familiar with is from Melcor (now a division of Laird Technologies): http://lairdtech.thomasnet.com/category/thermoelectric-modules-2?&plpver=10 http://www.lairdtech.com/Products/Thermal-Management-Solutions/Thermoelectric-Modules/

Jan 7, 2010. 5:41 AM REPLY

The blocks of Bismuth Telluride are bonded to the ceramic top and bottom plates with a high temperature solder. There is a printed circuit pattern on the ceramic faces against the Bismuth Telluride blocks that puts all the blocks in series. Important thing to remember is that the maximum operating temperature is rated at 80 degrees C. It may be possible to run at a maximum of 150C to 200C depending on the type of materials used in the module. Point here is that if you get the hot face too hot, the module will fall apart. It is a really good idea to use an aluminum heat spreader on the hot side. This will ensure a more even heat to the TE module across the entire active area (giving better output power). I would recommend a thickness of at least 1/4" thick aluminum. This can be a short fin heatsink which may better capture the input heat. Use thermal grease between the heat spreader and the TE module and screw it to the cold side heatsink - don't forget to use springs over the screws to allow for thermal expansion. If you don't do this, expansion will likely fracture the TE module. With regard to another response, the peltier effect is not the same as the seebeck effect. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermoelectric_effect A seebeck effect device makes a voltage when two dissimilar metals are heated. (deep-space craft use thermocouples heated by plutonium decay to power them when solar panels can no longer gather enough light) The peltier effect can similarly produce electricity when there is a thermal difference between its opposite faces. The most common use though is a substitute for conventional (freon based) cooling. Applying power to the TE module causes one face to get hotter than ambient temperature while the other face gets colder than ambient. This something that a thermocouple can not do. Oppie - Electrical Engineer

reukpower says:

Jan 7, 2010. 1:16 PM REPLY Thanks for your comments oppie, I have added an aluminium plate (see new step, lucky 13). You're right that the peltiers have quite a low temperature rating, the one I used is rated at 127c maximum hot side temperature. This is why it's important to keep the candle a reasonable distance, say 5mm away from the peltier with the candle height adjustment.

karossii says:

Jan 4, 2010. 12:54 PM REPLY Technically, the effect of generating electricity by using this device is using the Seebeck effect, not the Peltier effect; the Peltier effect is when you run electricity through the unit to produce heat/refrigeration. Otherwise, very nice 'ible!

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-build-a-thermoelectric-lamp/

theawesomeninja says:
Yeah use a cell that is intended to generate electricity from the heat difference-greater efficiency.

Jan 6, 2010. 7:15 PM REPLY

Kiteman says:
Where might one obtain a peltier chip?

Jan 4, 2010. 12:06 PM REPLY

jeff-o says:
You can get them at Digikey!

Jan 6, 2010. 1:29 PM REPLY

karossii says:

Jan 4, 2010. 1:03 PM REPLY You can buy a (fairly) inexpensive USB mini-fridge which have TE units in them, also many modern water-cooling systems (for computer CPU and/or graphics cards) use TE units to cool the liquid. It is simple enough to change from the peltier effect (using electricity to remove heat from one side and add it to the other) to using the seebeck effect (applying a temperature difference to the two sides to generate electricity)... all you do is take out the electrical source and create a sufficient temperature difference. To buy a unit directly, and have a bit more control over the quality, you have several options, here are just a few; http://www.inbthermoelectric.com/lowcost.html http://www.inbthermoelectric.com/highperformance.html http://www.tellurex.com/products/power.php http://www.customthermoelectric.com/TE_Coolers http://www.tetech.com/Peltier-Thermoelectric-Cooler-Modules.html

nnygamer says:

Jan 4, 2010. 12:58 PM REPLY ebay has them most of the time if you want to deal with them also http://sciplus.com/ carries one but it doesn't say the rating

Jodex says:
I got one from a drink cooler/warmer... Search online there you will find for sure.

Jan 4, 2010. 12:39 PM REPLY

robbtoberfest says:

Jan 5, 2010. 2:20 PM REPLY This is pretty awesome! Using the sun to heat it would be fun too; either with a big magnifying glass or at the focal point of a reflective dish.

jeff-o says:
It would be more efficient to use the sun to power a solar panel or water heater. But, it would certainly work!

Jan 6, 2010. 1:28 PM REPLY

Proteus says:
nice project , congrats =) Could you measure the power output for us? You said you could charge a small Mp3 player, would you say it's around a 1W? Thanks

Jan 5, 2010. 11:53 AM REPLY

reukpower says:

Jan 6, 2010. 1:35 AM REPLY It starts off around 1.2W and tapers off to around 0.8W as the heatsink heats up.. You can get much more power out of these but you have to beware of degrading the peltier junctions with too much heat. Finding better cooling is better than adding more heat.

Pink_wolf says:

Jan 5, 2010. 3:18 PM REPLY Hi, nice 'ible. i agree with the thin sheet of copper over the peltier unit, definatly a good idea me thinks :). Ive been wanting to put this effect into use on my motorcycle, attaching a peltier unit to my exhaust and using a heatsink on the outside edge to radiate. 1 major by product most people dont think of when they think of vehicles is heat, and most vehicles endevour to disperse this heat into the atmosphere, so why not reclaim the lost energy? sure i could charge my phone off it ^_^, or even my bikes battery? do away with a conventional alternator? Again, thanks for sharing! :)

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-build-a-thermoelectric-lamp/

steveastrouk says:

Jan 5, 2010. 2:39 PM REPLY DON'T slather heatsink compound on like that. You want cell-to-metal contact, not cell to goop to metal. You're losing efficiency, and you ain't going to beat about 5% anyway.

lucek says:
reminds me of the WWII era candlepowered radio.

Jan 4, 2010. 9:37 PM REPLY

Bongmaster says:
i got a peltier out of a 12v cool/warm box. has a couple of large heatsinks too :)

Jan 4, 2010. 12:50 PM REPLY

might be an idea to put a metal plate on the candle side of the peltier (base of a Pringles can is nice and flat) saves scorching it with the direct heat and will distribute the heat better ;)

reukpower says:
Thanks!

Jan 4, 2010. 1:32 PM REPLY Thats a good idea. I originally planned to put a piece of copper over the peltier, but never got round to ordering it. Well worth doing though.

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-build-a-thermoelectric-lamp/