Downtown Denver features many buildings with glass facades. Researchers from NREL say retrofitting these windows with thermochromic ones can improve energy efficiency across all climate zones in the United States. Photo by Dennis Schroeder, NREL.
In a new study, environmentally benign inverse-perovskites with high energy conversion efficiency have been reported by Tokyo Tech scientists with potential for practical application as thermoelectric materials (TEMs). Addressing the limitations typically faced with TEMs, such as insufficient energy conversion efficiency and environmental toxicity due to heavy elements, the new … [continued]
An entirely new approach to harvesting waste heat — one based on a phenomenon known as the thermogalvanic effect — has been developed by researchers at MIT and Stanford University. The new technique is entirely divorced from the (usually used) thermoelectric effect, which relies on (generally expensive) solid-state materials — … [continued]
The field of thermoelectrics might have just taken a notable step forward, especially with regard to “green energy” applications, thanks to new work from the University of Miami. Researchers there recently discovered the “surprising” properties of a metal named lithium purple-bronze (LiPB) — properties that make the metal very well-suited … [continued]
Thermoelectric materials can see their performance radically improved via the utilization of an array of ‘nanoscale pillars,’ according to new research from the University of Colorado Boulder. These tiny pillars, built directly onto the thermoelectric material, represent an entirely new approach to a problem that has limited thermoelectrics since the … [continued]
According to the newly published research, a very large thermoelectric effect can be created in a structure combining a ferromagnet (F) to a thin superconductor film (S) via an insulator (I), and where the superconductor is in the presence of a spin-splitting field due to the presence of a ferromagnetic insulator (FI) or a magnetic field (B).
Image Credit: Courtesy Academy of Finland
An interesting development has occurred in the field of thermoelectrics — it’s been found that very high thermoelectric conversion efficiencies can be achieved by utilizing the “proper” combination of magnetic metals and superconductors. The findings are notable because previously most effective thermoelectric devices have been forced to rely on semiconductors … [continued]
