STORY BY ELEANOR NELSEN INSTITUTE FOR CRITICAL TECHNOLOGY & APPLIED SCIENCE
Postdoctoral researcher Jinsung Chun holds a thermo-magneto-electric generator , which uses magnets to dissipate heat from mechanical systems and turn it into useful electricity .
Making Energy from Waste Heat
New system recovers energy lost from mechanical devices in the form of heat
Researchers at Virginia Tech have built a device that uses a pair of magnets and a piezoelectric lever to convert wasted heat to useful electricity .
The system is the first working , bulk-scale example of a thermo-magneto-electric generator , a new type of thermal energy harvester designed to operate efficiently without the large temperature gradients required by most systems .
Thermal energy harvesters recover waste heat , a significant source of energy loss in homes , manufacturing plants , and vehicles . Energy seeps out of mechanical systems from hot surfaces and exhaust gases and dissipates into the environment .
“ You can take any mechanical process around you , like running your lawnmower or a car , and about 40 to 60 percent of the energy you ’ re putting in as electricity or gas is wasted as heat . It ’ s a huge loss ,” said Shashank Priya , the Robert E . Hord Jr . Professor of Mechanical Engineering in the College of Engineering and associate director for research and scholarship at
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