Science fair project called Thermocharger. An innovative handheld charger that uses the temperature difference between the heat of a hand and ambient temperature to charge a cellular device.

1. Thermocharger: A Novel
Approach to Portable Energy
Regina Sung, Clint ISD Early College Academy

2. Index
I. Rationale
II. Background Research
III. Hypothesis
IV. Materials
V. Procedure
VI. Observations and Results
VII. Conclusion
VIII.Applications

3. I. Rationale
• The status that our planet is currently in calls for a
development of alternative innovations that utilizes clean and
renewable energy. However, the modern society demands that
these innovations be efficient and make people’s lives
convenient.Thus, this has propelled to the forefront in this
experiment to create a handheld charger, capable of charging
other devices, powered by excess body heat that is viable and
practical.The innovative final product is called the
“Thermocharger.”

4. II. Background Research
• An experiment by researcher, Ann Makosinski, prompted the idea to develop the
“Thermocharger.” Makosinski developed a thermally powered flashlight called a “Hollow
Flashlight,” her research highlights the widely accepted Seebeck effect theory and uses it as the
basis of her experiment.This experiment uses some of the mechanisms that Makosinski
incorporated in her flashlight, including the usage of a circuit and Peltier tiles.
• The Seebeck Effect is when two ends of a conductor are held at different temperatures electrons
at the hot junction at higher thermal velocities diffuse to the cold junction. Making one end of a
metal bar hotter or colder than the other producing an EMF (Electromotive force) between the
two ends.The voltages produced by Seebeck effect are small, usually only a few microvolts
(millionths of a volt) per kelvin of temperature difference at the junction. If the temperature
difference is large enough, some Seebeck-effect devices can produce a few millivolts
(thousandths of a volt). Numerous such devices can be connected in series to increase the output
voltage or in parallel to increase the maximum deliverable current. Large arrays of Seebeck-
effect devices can provide useful, small-scale electrical power if a large temperature difference is
maintained across the junctions.
• A joule thief is a simple voltage booster circuit. It can increase the voltage of a power source by
changing the constant low voltage signal into a series of rapid pulses at a higher voltage.The
circuit is a variant of the blocking oscillator that forms an unregulated voltage boost converter.
The output voltage is increased at the expense of higher current draw on the input, but the
integrated (average) current of the output is lowered and brightness of a luminescence
decreased. However, the only drawback is that this project will not be using the energy from the
Peltier tiles to power an LED, instead it will have to reach up to 5 volts to power a cellular device.
Furthermore, this project will enhance the efficiency of converting a small amount of voltage
exerted by the Peltier tiles for the heat of one’s hand and boost it up to the sufficient amount to
power a cell phone.

5. III. Hypothesis
• The prior experiment conducted clarified the most efficient method
to exert the largest amount of energy using Peltier tiles. Considering
previous year’s results, I hypothesize that the final product of the
“Thermocharger”, using four Peltier tiles and the temperature
difference between the palm of the hand and ambient air, will
produce a necessary amount of energy to charge a cellular device.

6. IV. Materials
• 110V Soldering Iron
• PVC as plastic body for the charger
• DC-DC BuckVoltage Converter 4.5-40V 12VTo 5V/2A Step-down LEDVoltmeter
USB
• 6” x 24”Aluminum Sheet
• Thermoelectric Modules (Peltier tiles)TEC1-12706 [5]
• Ultralow-voltage amplification circuit (mode choke)
• Aluminum Piece (3 ft.) cut into two 8 inch pieces.
• Wire clippers
• Handsaw
• CEN-TECH Digital Multimeter
• ElectricThermometer
• 120 Medium Smooths Sanding Sheets
• TG-7Thermal Grease
• Epoxy Adhesive
• Electrical tape
• Black duct tape

7. V. Procedure
Making the plastic case:
1. Take the plastic cut out a rectangle on one of the halves
with the handsaw, the width should be the size of a Peltier
tile while the length is 3 Peltier tiles together.
2. If the case does not allow for the Peltier tiles to fit, use the
soldering iron to melt any plastic that is in disturbance.
3. Smooth edges with sanding sheets.
4. Cut out a smaller rectangle on opposite side to see the
digital screen of the BuckVoltage converter
5. Secure the voltage converter with the electrical tape

8. Procedure
cont.
• Adding the Peltier tiles to the model:
• First use the handsaw to cut the aluminum pieces to 6”
• Then add the Epoxy adhesive to the Peltier tiles and put
glue them on top of the aluminum piece that was just
cut.
• Use binder clips to secure the Peltier tiles while they dry
• Once dried, clip off the extra length of the red and black
wires of the Peltier tiles, make sure to leave ½” for the
next step
• Then solder the positive (red) with the negative (black)
wires on the Peltier tiles, but leave the two outer wires
(red and black) untouched
• Extend the red bottom wire to meet the black one on the
top and plug them into the positive and negative outlets
of the BuckVoltage converter.
• Loosen the screws from the converter and place the wires
inside and tighten the screw.
• Next use Epoxy glue to insert the aluminum piece with
the Peltier tiles on it to the plastic case, align the Peltier
tiles with the cut out rectangle of the case.
• Place the foam on the surrounding edges where the
aluminum base was placed
• Lastly, place the two halved of the plastic case together
and secure with glue gun around the edges.

9. Procedure Cont.
• Testing efficiency of the “Thermocharger”
• There will be a total of three trials to gather information to observe the
efficiency of the model. Each trial will consist of five tests, recording body heat,
ambient temperature, amperage, voltage and resulting power in kilowatts.
• Each test will be timed for 5 minutes and the results will be inputted into the
table.
• The four trials were conducted at various times of the day, knowing that the
ambient temperature increases and decreases.
• After conducting all three trials the next step is testing the efficiency of charging
a cellphone that needs 5 volts to begin charging.
• First connect the USB portion of the charging cable to the outlet where the Buck
Voltage Converter is.
• Begin by holding the "Thermocharger" and timing until the cellphone indicates
that it is charging.
• Repeat Step 5 five times to assure that the results are consistent.

10. VI. Observations and Results
Trial 1 Body Heat Ambient
Temp.
Current [I] Volts [V] Power P=IV
[W]
Test 1 89° 77° 16.2 amps 1V 16.2W
Test 2 89° 76° 21.2 amps 1V 21.2W
Test 3 91° 80° 19.6 amps 1V 19.6W
Trial 2 Body Heat Ambient
Temp.
Current [I] Volts [V] Power P=IV
[W]
Test 1 80° 65° 23 amps 1.3V 29.9 W
Test 2 80° 64° 22.7 amps 1.3V 29.5W
Test 3 81° 65° 23.4 amps 1.1V 25.7W
Trial 3 Body Heat Ambient
Temp.
Current [I] Volts [V] Power P=IV
[W]
Test 1 90° 73° 34.7 amps 1.1V 38.2 W
Test 2 90° 74° 34.4 amps 1.3V 44.7W
Test 3 90° 75° 33 amps 1.3V 42.9 W
Trial 4 Body Heat Ambient
Temp.
Current [I] Volts [V] Power P=IV
[W]
Test 1 89° 76° 30 .8 amps 1V 30. 8W
Test 2 92° 78° 31 amps 1V 31 W
Test 3 91° 76° 31.1 amps 1V 31.1W
Table above displays the data collected from theThermocharger efficiency tests

11. Observations and Results cont.
Data Correlation Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 5
Temperature
difference
12° 15.5° 16° 14°
Average power 19 W 28.3W 42W 31 W
Table above displays the correlation between temperature difference and energy created

12. Observations and Results cont.
• The graph above displays the efficiency of theThermocharger, the two factors of time and
voltage. It is noticeable that there is a trend of the time it takes to reach 5 volts in under 1
minute. In fact, the median of the tests was 7.2 volts which exceeding the necessary voltage
level to charge a cellphone. As a result, theThermocharger is far more efficient than anticipated.
0
5.2
7.1
6.8
7
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5
Volts[V]
Minute(s)
Thermocharger EfficiencyTest 1

13. VII. Conclusion
• After following the listed procedures and finalizing the data, the outcome of the
experiment was far more satisfactory than previously anticipated. Hence, the hypothesis
was proven correct, deriving its energy from the temperature difference between the heat
of a palm and the surrounding ambient temperature, the innovativeThermocharger model
produced the necessary amount of energy to power a cellphone.The DC-DC BulkVoltage
Converter played a vital role in transmitting the energy from the Peltier tiles and regulating
to almost exactly 5 volts. Not only was theThermocharger lightweight and had a
convenient size but also it began to charge the phone in under one minute. During the
testing process, there were encounters where the researcher had difficulties with the
plastic case used as the body, it was not very efficient to be melting the plastic in order to
have the cut out for the Peltier tiles to be exposed.Thus, if there needed to be any changes
to further enhance the preciseness of this project, it will be to change the method of cutting
out the plastic.Additionally, if theThermocharger were to be manufactured on a large
scale, using a mold would be far more efficient and less time-consuming. Furthermore, the
results of this project, theThermocharger model, will be a tremendous advancement in the
topic of renewable portable energy, also it will make a grand impact on society and will
offer a new alternative for efficiency and suitability. Lastly, the ultimate goal is that the
Thermocharger will enhance society’s views on the endless benefits of renewable energy.

14. VIII. Applications
• Discussions regarding renewable clean energy have dominated
research in recent years.Therefore, this research explores the
efficiency of renewable energy used on a day-to-day basis.The global
surge of cell-phone usage has increased in the past decade, statistics
show that there are approximately 2.1 billion smart phone users on a
global scale.Typically, a person charges their phone more than once a
day but t having to find an outlet while running on a busy schedule
can be quite inconvenient. In addition to that, on average a person
spends $0.41 every month out of their electricity bill solely one single
electronic device. Consequently, a total of 861 million dollars
worldwide are spent to charge cellular devices. However, the
common household does not have just one device due to the fact that
there are families obtaining up to five or more cellphones. Ultimately,
the goal is to have the "Thermocharger" manufactured on a global
scale and will truly have a great impact on society.