The growing
concern over the continued usage of fossil fuels for electrical energy
generation and hence the need to significantly reduce reliance on this
non-renewable energy source as well as the requirement for long-lived power
supplies have necessitated the pragmatic shift towards the realization of
cleaner, safer, and renewable energy sources.The increasing interest in space exploration,
satellite activities, structural health monitoring and terrestrial monitoring
in harsh and inaccessible environments place a high demand for energy sources
for autonomous systems. The existing battery technologies that can be utilized for autonomous
systems are plagued by short-life, low energy storage density, associated
unwanted maintenance burdens of recharging or replacement and disposal of
unwanted batteries which poses a threat to the environment. Autonomous energy
sources from waste heat for home appliances and industrial machineries will
also mitigate the effect of global warming which threatens the environment as a
result of fossil fuel energy based sources that release undesirable
carbon-monoxide into the atmosphere. Thermoelectric energy generation, based on
Seebeck effect, an innovative approach to convert heat energy into usable forms
can significantly contribute towards sustainable energy development and meet
the growing need for power in small scale applications due to its relative
advantages over other sources of energy generation. This paper presents an
insight into various ways by which underutilize waste heat can be exploited to
meet the growing energy demand. While
there is growing concern for generation of ‘clean’ energy, and it is a relief
that there is a large amount of underutilise or waste heat capable of
generating ‘clean’ energy.
