The Development of Thermoelectric Converters of Power Supply for Wireless Sensor Nodes

• Main Authors: Ming-Yuan Lu, 呂明遠
• Other Authors: none
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2012
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/59480130093045337910

碩士 === 國立中央大學 === 電機工程研究所碩士在職專班 === 100 === This paper investigates the feasibility of sensors and wireless transmission powered by thermoelectric generator whose power can charge Ni-MH battery. This research used a thermal cooler and applied heat on the hot plate to produce a difference of temperature between the hot and cold plate. The generated electrical power was used for wireless platform operation and battery charging. According to the results of experiment, the efficiency of thermoelectric generator (TEG) under low temperature condition (<500K) is quite low and therefore limits the application of thermoelectric generator unless customized high density thermopiles and very low power consumption wireless sensor platform were used. However, the disadvantage of this customized high density thermopiles is the high cost for commercial application. From our experiments, we also discovered the output voltage is same as that of a TEG when two TEGs were connected in series to generate electrical power, but the temperature difference of the hot and cold plate of the TEG was effectively lower. This result implies a feasible approach for future application.