Electricity from Exhaust info - Seebeck cells

[Air-Hybrid]

Originally Posted by Ecky

If I'm not mistaken, isn't this what NASA uses in its deep space probes for power? (heated by a chunk of something radioactive)

Ah, but 'cold-side' of their devices is at about -270degC (only just above absolute zero) that gives them about the best heat-engine efficiency possible.

[mort]

Posted by Ecky
If I'm not mistaken, isn't this what NASA uses in its deep space probes for power? (heated by a chunk of something radioactive)

About radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTG, RITEG) wiki sez:
"Thermocouples, though very reliable and long-lasting, are very inefficient; efficiencies above 10% have never been achieved and most RTGs have efficiencies between 3–7%."

Posted by mans: i'm guessing it should put out at least 10% of its rated capacity, and with enough of them on an exhaust system at operating temp it should do the trick.... no?

Enough may be quite a lot. Like 100 instead of 25. Still only about $500.


-mort

[Ecky]

Still, if this could be made to work optimally I think it could definitely be worth the effort. Alternator-less is not an option for me because I like to listen to the radio and run the heat sometimes, this would make it possible for me and still save 10-15% fuel. There are a lot of ways I could cut back on power usage to limit the number of TECs I'd need.

As for being power-negative, I don't think that would be an issue. Putting heatsinks on the outside and placing them in an area of high airflow, far enough down the exhaust that they don't burn out shouldn't be too tricky.