Everything around us, from appliances, light bulbs, computers to hot coffee cups and food radiate heat that eventually go wasted. But how about putting all that unused energy into good use? Recently, design students Vihanga Gore and Sergey Komardenkov from the Institute of Interaction in Copenhagen have invented a great way to convert all the unused energy into electricity with the help of Ikea Thermoelectric Furniture.
Invented at Space 10, a research lab run by Ikea, the Heat Harvest is a concept to integrate thermoelectric technology into a tabletop to further juice up your electric devices. The whole idea is based on the principle that temperature differences between two surfaces can generate electricity.
The Heat Harvest desks are designed to absorb heat from things placed onto an embedded pad, which further runs heat through a thermoelectric generator, and then push it back into a wireless charging dock for your smartphone or other electronic gadgets. All you need to do is put a plate of hot food, cup of coffee or any other running electrical appliance on the thermoelectric desk. Slowly the radiated energy out of these heated up items will be turned back into electricity for further use.
Ikea already sells a range of wireless charging furnishings, so these thermo-charging tabletops are nothing out-of-the-box for the firm. But it is indeed a great way to utilize unused energy that would otherwise go waste in the atmosphere. With upcoming developments and advancements in nanotechnology, this amazing concept is soon going to be a reality, providing convenient means for charging our electrical devices without wired chargers.
Via: TechTimes
