Preserving Heat Energy from Fridges: Alternatives & Ideas

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around methods to preserve and convert heat energy dissipated from refrigerators into electrical energy for powering sensors and indicators. Participants explore various ideas and alternatives related to energy conversion, efficiency, and practical applications.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant inquires about alternatives to preserve energy from heat dissipated by fridges, specifically seeking methods to convert this heat into electrical energy.
  • Another participant questions the clarity of the term "preserve energy," emphasizing the conservation of energy and the implications of entropy in the process.
  • A participant suggests using thermocouples for low power needs, indicating a potential method for energy conversion.
  • One participant elaborates on a concept involving a piston mechanism that could harness heat from the fridge's condenser to drive a dynamo, generating electrical energy for low-voltage applications.
  • Another participant expresses skepticism about the efficiency of converting low-temperature heat into usable energy, noting that improving efficiency may compromise the fridge's overall performance.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the feasibility and efficiency of converting heat from refrigerators into electrical energy. While some propose methods and ideas, others highlight the limitations and challenges associated with such conversions, indicating that the discussion remains unresolved.

Contextual Notes

Participants acknowledge that the temperature difference in the heat dissipated is small, which may limit the efficiency of energy conversion methods. There are also concerns about the cost-effectiveness of implementing such solutions given the low power output.

Apache
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How can I preserve energy dissipated out from some devices that always extract heat like fridge?
Do you guys have some alternatives or ideas to convert heat energy to electrical energy that can supply some sensors and indicators?
Thanks!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
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Your question looks a bit unclear to me. What do you mean with "preserve energy"?
Energy is conserved, and if you cool one object, you have to heat another object due to entropy.
Do you guys have some alternatives or ideas to convert heat energy to electrical energy that can supply some sensors and indicators?
If you don't need much power and just want to save cables: Thermocouples?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I mean convert the heat dissipated out from device to other form of energy and used for other purposes. Normally we just treat them as heat loss because temperature is too low and it is not much efficient to be converted. So now I am trying to convert heat dissipated from condenser of fridge to electrical energy.
I was thinking like making the air inside a piston to expand after heating by heat dissipated out from condenser under constant pressure.
Under expanding and contracting of piston, the piston drive a simple crank and thus drive a dynamo.
The dynamo then save energy to supply some low voltage, low current drawing electrical elements like thermostat and sensors.
My fundamental in heat is not strong.
Looking forward to some advices. =)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I mean convert the heat dissipated out from device to other form of energy and used for other purposes.
You can get a small fraction of that, but the process cannot be very efficient (in absolute numbers) as the temperature difference is small. Even worse: to make it more efficient, you have to make the fridge less efficient. You cannot win that game, and basically everything is too expensive if you just get something like 1W (-> 9kWh per year).
 

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