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New thermoelectric generator converts vehicle exhaust heat into electricity, boosting fuel efficiency
(www.inceptivemind.com)
this post was submitted on 14 Feb 2025
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Technology
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Not enough power to affect anything
Fools logic. This is a single system imagine the world running systems like this on every device or system, then the amount adds up. Energy recovery is the future. Maximizing what we can produce. Sustainability.
We already do this at every steam based power plant in the world (basically everything but hydro, PV, and wind) and it's done much more efficiently. Doing this stuff with tiny gadgets on micro generators like ICE vehicles is a pretty inefficient implementation, especially as it adds weight to already heavy vehicles, decreasing efficiency and safety, and increasing tire and brake wear. The only place I can imagine this being useful is very heavy vehicles that for some reason still have to be using diesel like long haul trucks/busses, diesel freight trains etc and the like. And EVEN then you're looking at major issues with economy. If you increase the weight of a truck by 2 percent to give it a 2% increase in fuel efficiency, you are hurting not helping. 2% comes off of your GCVWR margins and suddenly you need 51 trucks instead of 50 trucks to transport a given load, not only increasing your fuel use by 2% but also increasing vehicle maintenance and tire and brake pollution by 2%
Edit: I'm not saying relatively miniaturized energy recovery systems don't have a future, but I'm dubious it's in transport or handheld devices. At least for the foreseeable future. Infrastructure scale however has always been a major application for energy recovery development, stirling engine, steam turrbine and TE development keeps getting further pushed to eek efficiency out of power stations, power plants, substations, emergency generators, maybe even HVAC systems and other building scale applications.
It even says in the article 40 watts. I’m not going to say this affects literally nothing, but it is not a significant enough amount of power to meaningfully affect the locomotion of a car. It might make more sense in much more scaled up helicopters and planes where fuel economy is a far bigger problem. But thermoelectric has never been a very potent method.
Also, you’ve got some nerve calling someone a fool for not assuming we will retrofit every motor on earth with this technology. There are a lot of things that would be nice to retrofit the entire installed base of the world with. But that is an enormous barrier that only…. fools ignore.
Fools logic was meaning this type of technology doesn't have a purpose when it definitely does and that is how your post came off lack of context I guess, it is the internet.
While it won't power the locomotion of the car it will help to power accessories even on a 40w basis even more so over trips and somewhat lengthy drives.
Your post lacked any of your clarifications so it comes off as you simply think this is an ignorant waste of time concept as a whole. Energy recovery is a useful premise.
But making micro machines to do it, or retrofitting old cars with this wouldnt help much but manufacturing newer more effecient vehicles isn't a viable strategy like the guy explains above you. There's other uses besides moving a vehicle, hydro would be one of the biggest. There's other fields and applications this could be used for having nothing to do with configuration. All I was saying was that this tech has viability.
You are confusing me with other person. Read the names.
Oh damn 😂 my bad.