How to make a DIY Thermoelectric Generator

In this video we'll be building a thermoelectric generator that can provide enough power to charge your smartphone using just candle flames!

Parts Links:

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Thermoelectric plates*:

Voltage regulator:

Thermally conductive glue:

*It's important to not let these budget plates get too hot, or else they can be damaged. Just make sure you refresh the water regularly and you should be okay.

This video and its giveaway is sponsored by Native Union.

OFFICIAL LINKS:

[electronicsNmore]

Great video. I uploaded a video to my channel a while back showing this. Using ice water will give you very good current output, but the ice will not last long.

[DaDawgZeee]

seriously not being hyperbolic when i say, you're probably the most enjoyable and genuinely usefully informative channels I've ever found on youtube. great vid man.

[Brandowannabemando]

Almost forgot for a minute that I was watching YouTube and not how it's made with some of your edits. Fantastic work man!

[skulldriver]

let's use thermite for the candles and liquid nitrogen for the cold water.

[davidp]

when he started making hot chocolate I lost it

[stevee]

Customer Service Trainer 12yrs.
You kept me interested.
Good voice. Good brief construction delivery.
Well done Lad.

[Majesenmoto]

I've just discovered your channel. The quality of video, sound and editing is just incredible. Thank you very much for the effort and sharing your projects with us! You deserve more subs, I hope you the best, and i'm already subscribed ;D Keep it up! Btw: ¿Where are you from?

[bobbuja]

Love how simplified the design was and the lack of tools needed
simple yet effective

[HamDerDanskeren]

Great project! Nice concept, and definitely seems like a simple way to convert the temperature difference into electricity. But those so called "peltier modules" are pretty inefficient, but as you said in the video, cheap and simple.

[zeroy]

Great video, thought at first it was the Peltier effect but reading about it I see there are 3 effects from the same device, very ingenuous!

[rainbowNickk]

You trully make this look simple and easy. and it is a THERMOELECRIC GENERATOR! hats off to you. cheers

[porfiliovmj]

"And you can make hot chocolate while your at it" I laughed so hard

[peemsta]

Loads of negative comments on here.

The guy made an interesting project that beginners might try…. To learn something… to make something.

To all you smart alecs out there…. Channel your negative comments into doing something positive!!!

[ollehogblom]

I just defended my PhD thesis about thermoelectric generation and I have a suggestion for you.
Inside most TE modules there is a layer of graphite that needs to be compressed in order for the modules to work properly. If you would clamp the modules together also during use, the power output from the generator would increase signififantly due to lower thermal (and to some extent also electrical) contact resistances inside the modules. The modules I've been working with should have a contact pressure of 1.2MPa. Such a clamping device would cause the whole generator to be a bit heavier but the increased performance would make it worth it. By the way, thanks for all great videos! :) // Olle

[__WJK__]

Good video! The science behind peltiers is pretty cool/fascinating and the application is fairly easy to apply to just about any heat source. Unfortunately, the tricky part/catch22 is coming up with an ultra-efficient (no cost) way to heat the hot side, while also efficiently cooling/pulling heat away from the cold side. Attaching a bunch of peltiers to a free heat source, such as (ie) a "fire-ring" (while camping in the middle of Winter) would work really well... but very few people are going to want to sit around a campfire in the middle of Winter/single-digit temps to take advantage of the limited electricity being produced. On a side note, if a person had a free/unlimited supply of candles and ice, the device in the video would be great to have around... especially during a power outage.

[RupertBruce]

It may be worth insulating your water bath to keep it cool except for the contact pads. Also trapping as much heat as possible on the underside without smothering the flame. Currently, the candles are basically heating up the exposed water bath.

[matsv]

There is quite a bit to do on the efficiency side of this design.

Firstly, all the thernoelectric generators are in series. This might not be that optimum of a plan. The issue is that the central element probably generate more energy than the side once. The aluminium heat spreeder really don´t spreed the heat that far. A solution to that problem could be to wire them 2x5 or 5x2 or 3x3 (and skip one) and for the case of the 5x2 or 3x3 use a step-up regulator in steed of a step down

The second part is efficiency of the candles. Most of the heat is wasted. It´s not turned into electricity, and not even into heat in the pan. One way of making this... sure have to rebuild quite a lot of the design, is to make a funnel. That is collect all the heat of the candles, funnel it up a "chimney" and have the thermal generators. Could have 4x2 and have a upper and lower stack in parallell. Or make a really narrow chimney and have 2 facing each other and have them stack 5 high.

The last problem it self is the peltier elements... they are simply not that efficient. A normal rankine engine is about 4 times more efficent... but of cause.. find a home size rankine engine might not be that simple.

[auralorifice]

Good job picking sponsors I will actually use! Your DIY tutorials are super good looking, and their uses fit my lifestyle perfectly. Hopefully one day I will have the time to make one of them

[cool]

Input 800 watt of heat, output 1.5 watt of elecricity :D:D

[mitchell]

Your channel is the best DIY channel I've found because it's stuff that's genuinely useful. Colin Furze and Grant Thompson are entertaining, sure, but I can never imagine actually making their stuff the vast majority of the time.