The average human, at rest, produces around 100 watts of power. Over periods of a few minutes, humans can comfortably sustain 300-400 watts; and in the case of very short bursts of energy, such as sprinting, some humans can output over 2,000 watts.
The bulk of this energy is required for important tasks, such as pumping your heart and flexing your muscles, but a lot of it is wasted, primarily as heat.
Almost all of this wasted energy could be captured and turned into electricity. Furthermore, this process could then augment or completely replace reliance on batteries.
Battery technology is accompanied by a huge limitation when it comes to modern technology. If batteries could be removed from the equation, it would suddenly be possible to have wearable computers: computers wrapped around your wrist, embedded in your shoes, or woven into your clothes. To do this, only a few watts of power from the human body would need to be captured; a negligible amount that would probably have zero effect on the body.
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed a button sized self-charging battery that can scavenge energy from low temperature sources of heat.
The device can charge itself at temperatures between 20°C(68°F) and 60°C (140°F), far lower than other heat-harvesting technologies.
Dr Gang Chen, head of the mechanical engineering department at MIT, who led the work, said the technology could lead to new mobile phone batteries that can be charged without needing to be plugged in.
He said: ‘It is a self-powered device and may be attractive for places without electric grid.
‘To generate enough power for practical applications (such as in mobile phones), better material and system designs are needed, and we are working on it.
The Idea in Practice
The idea of transforming human body heat into electricity has been an ongoing process for scientists for years. In Sweden, for example, Stockholm Central Station uses heat exchanges to convert commuter body heat into hot water, which is then piped to an office building next door: an approach that can easily be replicated in shopping malls and supermarkets around the world.
Researchers have been attempting ways to power small devices, such as cellphones and laptops, when there is no conventional and accessible energy sources. At the University of Wisconsin, research engineers have created a shoe that utilizes reverse electrowetting to produce as much as a kilowatt of energy, just by simply taking a walk.
One such commercial product leveraging body heat to generate power:
TEGwear™ Technology
Power wireless sensors and other low-power mobile electronic devices utilizing body heat as a constantly available power source.
Overview
TEGwear™ technology is a unique thermoelectric energy harvesting technology designed to power body-worn electronic devices. Integrated into wearable form factors, such as wristbands or clothing, TEGwear™ absorbs heat from the body, which is converted into electrical energy that serves as an always-available renewable power source.
Similar to sunlight exciting electrons in a solar cell, body-heat absorbed by TEGwear™ technology excites electrons and optimizes this energy for body-worn medical,
fitness, and safety related electronics.
The result of decades of development from Thermo Life® Energy Corporation and Perpetua R&D, this unique flexible thermoelectric material is being incorporated into strategic partner products.
Key Features & Benefits
• Constantly available power source can replace or greatly extend the life of batteries
• Higher native voltage technology
• Technology is winner of numerous awards, including R&D 100 & U.S. Fed. Labs
• Microwatts to milliwatts of power depending on surface area, placement & activity level
• Manufacturing approach allows for cost-effective optimization of voltage & power
Applications for TEGwear™ technology include wireless medical, sports, fitness, health, and other low-power mobile electronic devices.
for details visit : http://web.mit.edu/
http://www.stanford.edu/
http://www.perpetuapower.com/
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