An Electricity-Generating Window Made of a Transparent Energy Harvester of Thermocells

Windows are primarily for admitting light or air and allowing people to see out. Presented here are windows that can generate electricity while retaining the primary functions. These windows are made of transparent thermocells that convert a temperature difference across the window to electricity. Interconnected p-type and n-type or p-n thermocells are introduced and utilized to scale up the output power of a thermocell window (T-window). The T-window consisting of 2 p-n thermocells provides an output voltage of 60 mV and a power density of 0.5 mu W/cm(2) for a small temperature difference of 10 degrees C with an optical transparency of similar to 50% in the visible range. The T-window introduced here could pave the way to enhancing energy efficiency in residential environments by capturing naturally available low-grade heat, a new renewable energy source that is otherwise discarded to the surrounding environment.

Automated summary

These windows can generate electricity while retaining their traditional functions and enhance energy efficiency in residential environments by capturing low-grade heat.