Ice Powered TEC Light

Here's a light which is powered by Ice and hot water. It could be used in a remote mountain hut during a freezing winter.

It was made while exploring how to use Thermoelectric modules to create useful power. Its focus is on the cool side of the TEC module rather than hot side.

8 x TEC1-12706 Thermoelectric modules

Hot Water bottle

2 x 2mm by 10mm by 20mm aluminum plates

LED Flashlight / lantern

1. Arrange 8 TEC1-12706 Thermoelectric modules on top of a one of the aluminum plates.
2. Add some small dabs of hot glue from a glue gun to lock the modules next to each other.
3. Have the printed side up, with the wires from the modules going to the outside.
4. Wire each side in series (positive lead to negative lead).

1. Place the other aluminum plate on top and secure the two plates together with a little clear packing tape.
2. Connect the two sides in parallel.

1. Make some ice by filling an empty 1litre milk cartoon with water and freezing it (In a hut this could be done by placing it outside in freezing conditions)
2. Once frozen, cut the outside carton off the block of ice
3. Place the block of ice on a cloth on a kitchen bench
4. Place a light cloth on top of the ice (to prevent the aluminum plate from moving)

1. Place the aluminum plate sandwich on top of the block of ice.
2. Place a light cloth on top.
3. Fill up a hot water bottle with boiling water and place it on top of the plate.

1. Place a towel on top of the plate to give some insulation
2. Connect a 1.5-volt light (I purchased one from a Dasio store) to the sandwiched plates outputs
3. The light will run for about 3 hours before all of the ice melts and provides enough light for a small cabin

Another source of heat tried was placing boiling water into a 4-litre tin can. This worked well, generating 200mA of current and about 0.7volts. The light shone brightly and lasted for over an hour.