HERMO-E CHARGER

         This project details the efforts of our team to design and construct a working prototype of a thermoelectric cell phone charger.  We identified the requirements we wanted our thermoelectric cell phone charger to meet and the guiding thermal principles involved, formulated various design concepts and selected one to pursue constructing as our prototype. The selection process was carried out by utilizing a design matrix to compare the positive and negative aspects of each concept. The technical analysis of each concept is detailed and explained. The charger will utilize Peltier modules that will convert heat from a flame or concentrated sunlight into electricity that will charge a small handheld device, such as a cell phone. The Peltier effect, also closely linked to the Seebeck effect, relies on temperature difference to drive heat transfer. The greater the heat transfer, the more electricity will be generated by the Peltier module. By creating as great a temperature difference as possible, an efficient thermoelectric cell phone charger can be constructed. This product will make us less relient on electricity and will prove useful during natural disasters when electricity is not available.