Experimental Study of the Thermoelectric Wood Burning Stove Characteristics

The paper deals with the joint production of thermal and electric energy with use of thermoelectric generators. The object of a study is a wood burning stove; thermoelectric generators are placed on the walls of this stove. These generators are cooled with fans and produce energy for the fans. The paper studies the characteristics of the thermoelectric generators when intense combustion of fuel and their change during heating of the stove and subsequent cooling. The maximum output corresponds to passport (60 watts).

Moreover, the efficiency of the stove for producing heat and electric energy is calculated. The electrical efficiency of the stove for heating amounts to 0,07%. Annual power production and the possibility of using this stove to supply in conditions of Ural region with the existing and technically possible efficiency of thermoelectric energy conversion are estimated. The ways to improve the efficiency of the system “stove-TEG” are suggested. 

1. Rowe D.M. CRC Handbook of Thermoelectrics. CRC Press., 1995. 701 p. (in Eng.).

2. Rowe D., Min G. Evaluation of thermoelectric modules for power generation. J. Power Sources., 1998, vol. 73, pp. 193–193 (in Eng.).

3. Chen M., Lund H., Rosendahl L., Condra T.J. Energy efficiency analysis and impact evaluation of the application of thermoelectric power cycle to todays CHP systems. Appl. Energy, 2010, vol. 87, pp. 1231–1238 (in Eng.).

4. Yazawa K., Shakouri A. Cost-efficiency trade-off and the design of thermoelectric power generators. Envi-ron. Sci. Technol., 2011, vol. 45, pp. 7548–7553 (in Eng.).

5. Pravdinskij zavod èlektričeskogo oborudovaniâ. Available at: http://pozit.rf (in Russ.).

6. Termoèlektričeskaâ peč’ «Vega». Available at: http://ecovolt.ru/upload/Manual_VEGA.pdf (in Russ.).

7. Devil Watt™ TEG Power Wood Stove Thermoelectric Generator. Available at: /www.tegpro.com (in Eng.).

8. Power Module Installation Notes. Available at: www.thermonamic.com (in Eng.).

9. Champier D., Bedecarrats J.P., Kousksou T., Rivaletto M., Strub F., Pignolet P. Study of a TE (thermoelec-tric) generator incorporated in a multifunction wood stove. Energy, 2011, vol. 3, pp.1518–1526 (in Eng.).

10. Goldsmid H. Bismuth telluride and its alloys as materials for thermoelectric generation. Materials, 2014, vol. 7, pp. 2577–2592 (in Eng.).

11. Anatychuk L.I., Mihajlovskij V.Ya. Termoèlektričeskie generatory na židkom i gazoobraznom toplive, sovremennoe sostoânie i perspektivy. Termoèlektričestvo, 2007, no. 4, pp. 9–25 (in Russ.).

12. Korotkov A.S., Loboda V.V. Modelirovanie i èksperimental’noe issledovanie termoèlektričeskih generatorov. Èlektronnaâ tehnika. Seriâ 3: Mikroèlektronika, 2016, no. 1 (161), pp. 53–57 (in Russ.).

13. Shostakovskiy P. Termoèlektričeskie istočniki al’ternativnogo èlektropitaniâ. Komponenty i tehnologii, 2010, no. 12, pp. 131– 138 (in Russ.).

14. Wang Y., Dai C., Wang S. Theoretical analysis of a thermoelectric generator using exhaust gas of vehicles as heat source. Appl. Energy, 2013, vol. 112, pp. 1171–1180 (in Eng.).

15. Bashmakov I.A. Potencial ènergosbereženiâ v Rossii. Ènergosbereženie, 2008, no. 1, pp. 28–35 (in Russ.).

16. Peč’ «Indigirka». Available at: http://www.termofor.ru/catalog/model/pechi_portativnie/indigirka/ (in Russ.).

17. Gladikov A.A., Shcheklein S.E. Povyšenie nadežnosti sistem katodnoj zaŝity magistral’nyh gazoprovodov za sčet VIÈ. Sbornik materialov Vserossijskoj konferencii “Ènergosbereženie i povyšenie ènergetičeskoj èffektivnosti. Ènergoobespečenie. Netradicionnye i vozobnovlâemye istočniki ènergii”. Ekaterinburg: UrFU, 2012, pp. 61–63 (in Russ.).

18. Montecucco A., Siviter J., Knox A.R. Constant heat characterisation and geometrical optimization of ther-moelectric generators. Applied Energy, 2015, vol. 149, pp. 248–258 (in Eng.).

19. Orr B., Singh B., Tan L., Akbarzadeh A. Electricity generation from an exhaust heat recovery system utilis-ing thermoelectric cells and heat pipes. Appl. Therm. Eng., 2014, vol. 73, pp. 586–595 (in Eng.).

20. Jang J.C., Chi R.G., Rhi S.H., Lee K.B., Hwang H.C., Lee J.S., et al. Heat pipe-assisted thermoelectric power generation technology for waste heat recovery. J. Electron. Mater., 2015, vol. 44, pp. 2039–2047 (in Eng.).

21. Orr B., Akbarzadeh A., Mochizuki M., Singh R. Simulation and experimental study on thermal optimization of the heat exchanger for automotive exhaust-based thermoelectric generators. Case Studies in Thermal Engineering, 2014, vol. 4, pp. 85–91 (in Eng.).

22. Shcheklein S.E., Starikov E.V., Nemihin Yu.E., Nikitin A.D., Zhukov A.V., Korzhavin S.A. Eksperimental’noe issledovanie parodinamičeskih sistem ohlaždeniâ kritičeskih èlementov v avarijnyh situaciâh. International Scientific Journal for Alternative Energy and Ecology (ISJAEE), 2015, no. 8–9, pp. 86–92 (in Russ.).